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Chapter Text

The past

“Pappy?”

The little girl was cold in her pink cotton nightie. It was late and the housekeeper had already turned off the central heating. She really should be in bed asleep.

“Pappy?”

The girl wished she’d remembered to put on her pink unicorn slippers. She wore them all the time and now they weren’t so fluffy, the iridescent horn almost falling off the left toe, but it was okay. Pappy would buy her new ones.

“Pappy, is that you?”

The girl knew better than to disturb her pappy while he was working, but she’d heard strange noises.

It could have been the wind in the trees, but she knew it wasn’t. She’d lived in the big house almost her whole life and was more familiar with its creaks and groans than anybody else.

There- she heard it again. An odd sound, almost like a horse’s whinny.

She liked horses. Pappy said she could have riding lessons if she was good and ate all her vegetables without complaining.

Another whinny, this one higher pitched. As if the horse was in pain.

The girl stopped in the middle of the corridor, heart beating fast inside her chest.

She turned and started walking towards pappy’s study. The door was shut but light leaked out from the bottom, revealing someone was inside. She nearly called out again when she heard raised voices. This wasn’t like the cry from before- this was a proper argument. A grown-up fight between a man and a woman.

The girl backed away from the door, not wanting to interrupt an icky situation. Pappy had a new wife who was almost as tall as him. She had hair like gold and eyes as blue as a cloudless sky, but she was always grumpy. The girl assumed pappy was fighting with her. Again.

Having satisfied her curiousity, the girl decided to go back to her room. That was when she heard a whistling crack and the same cry from before.

Oh. Oh no. The sound had come from the place she hated the most. Of all the rooms in her home, this was the worst one. It had the monster in it.

Pappy knew about the monster, but he said she was safe as long as she kept to herself. Rey was too scared of the monster to believe her pappy.

She tried to tell the gardener about the creature, but he just looked nervous. The gardener was nice enough to play with her when she was bored, though he acted like he couldn’t hear her when she talked about the monster in the room.

It wasn’t even a proper room. It had a plain door and a staircase that went down, down, down to a dark space with no windows.

Again, the sound floated up to her from the room way down low. No, not a room- a basement.

She should turn back. She’d grown so cold her teeth were starting to chatter, and in her pretty pink bedroom she could lie under warm blankets and ignore the monster in the basement.

But…

What if the monster had gone hunting like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood? What if it had caught someone? And what if that person needed saving?

The monster loved to hurt people. It had hurt her once, though she didn’t like to think about it. It made pappy upset when she talked about what had happened. Besides, it was her fault for being where she wasn’t supposed to be.

Maybe she should tell pappy about the strange noises. He’d know what to do.

Again, that whinnying cry came, twisting her little heart. The girl took a trembling step towards the room where she wasn’t supposed to be. Didn’t want to be.

The door opened soundlessly, as if its hinges were carefully oiled. She expected it to creak like old bones in a scary movie, but it didn’t.

The girl crept down steep stairs, one hand tight on the banister to support unsteady legs.

At long last she arrived at the bottom, but now that she was here, her feet refused to move. It was pitch black, and she could see nothing but the darkness. Maybe she’d made a mistake.

And then she heard the clink. Clink. Clink.

It was a strangely familiar sound.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Pappy’s bodyguard would sometimes wrap a chain around BeeBee, his trained Bullmastiff, and it sounded just like that.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

“H-hello?” the girl called, her voice echoing in the chamber.

For a breathless moment, there was silence.

And then a figure lunged at her from the darkness, eyes bulging and teeth bared, a bloody cut slicing his face in half.

The girl screamed and screamed and screamed.

It was the beginning of her end.

The present

Rey awoke with tears slipping down her cheeks, heart pounding against her ribcage, her pyjamas drenched with sweat.

Every night, the same dream. Every night, the same nightmare.

At least she hadn’t woken up screaming this time.

Hands shaking, she made herself pick up her smartphone with its cracked screen. She opened her notes app and began writing down everything she could remember about her dream. Her nightmare.

Three different state-appointed therapists had all said the same thing to her. The nightmares weren’t real. They were nothing more than a manifestation of her subconscious, a way for her mind to process the trauma of her past.

She, Rey Niima, was a blank slate from the time she was born until roughly eight years of age, and it was normal for her brain to try and fill in the gaps. Rey must have seen a horror movie at an impressionable time and was now re-living gothic images as if they were her own.

If she was to have a whole and healthy future, she needed to move past her dreams. Her nightmares. The belonging she sought was not behind her- it was ahead.

But Rey knew different.

She knew her nightmares weren’t fables conjured up by a wounded psyche. They were memories. Real, honest-to-goodness, hand-to-heart memories.

Now, if she could only prove it.

She’d turned sixteen a week ago, and it seemed strange to her that she couldn’t remember anything from before she was eight. When she was first placed in foster care she was told little about her past, as if the authorities didn’t know very much either.

She’d long been an orphan, but then her guardian had died, leaving her completely destitute. That dead guardian was her grandfather, and Rey suspected he was the beloved pappy in her dreams. She knew nothing more than that, despite a nightmarish awareness that she’d lived in a rambling house with a basement containing monsters.

Monster, not monsters. For some reason, she knew she’d been scared of a single entity.

Surely the monster wasn’t real. Her immature mind must have turned a scary or unhappy memory into something more fitting for a dark fairy tale. No wonder her therapists refused to take her seriously- even she wasn’t sure what was real and what was childish fantasy.

Rey burrowed under her mound of blankets, ignoring her foster sister’s snores from the bunk overhead. She was settling into her fifth group home. It was just how things went with teenagers in foster care. Most people preferred looking after younger children because they were easier to control, and older ones like her tended to be shuffled around.

Rey didn’t mind where she lived as long as she was left alone. Her murky past had become somewhat of an obsession, and solving the riddle was more important than her present poverty and shame. What did it matter if she was ignored by the cheerleaders of this new school or the theatre kids of the previous one? So what if her current foster father was a high functioning alcoholic or the previous one had chained and padlocked the fridge? She had an endgame that didn’t include any of them.

It was hard to fall asleep again after waking up from a nightmare, so she began scrolling through another app, reviewing the latest news. Which was when she saw him, fate choosing that precise moment to intervene.

Under the bold red headline: ‘Meet the Coruscant Black Dragons- The Biggest Bullies of the National Hockey League’ she saw a face that had her struggling to breathe.

She immediately recognised his chiselled cheekbones and strong jawline. Full lips that would have been the envy of any reality TV star. Thick, sweat-soaked black hair and a deep, intense gaze that said he was ready to take out an enemy. An aura of inexplicable masculine arrogance as if he’d never known what it was to be wrong.

But even more familiar was his scar. A pink mark that bisected his face starting from the middle of his forehead, slicing diagonally across his right cheek, and disappearing down the collar of his hockey jersey. A scar that somehow turned him from professional hockey player to ferocious warrior.

A scar that was the exact shape as the bloody wound that featured in her dream slash nightmare every single night.

It was him. The man of her dreams.

Wait, no, that came out wrong. The man in her dreams.

Excitement bubbled up inside her. Who was he?

Shaking fingers expanded the image on her touchscreen, and she read: ‘Kylo Ren, Captain of the Coruscant Black Dragons and twice winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the player voted most valuable to his team.’

Kylo Ren.

Kylo. Ren.

Kylo Ren.

Here, at last, was a link to her past. Her monster in the basement.

She was so excited it took a moment for the words to unblur, and slowly she began to read.

By Kaydel Ko Connix for The Daily Mail

The Coruscant Black Dragons have won the Stanley Cup- just to rub it in everyone’s faces.

Led by the simultaneously charismatic and villainous Kylo ‘King of the Underworld’ Ren, they're the most antagonistic trash-talking bullies in the National Hockey League. Opponents decry their actions and fans of other teams outright loathe them. Being the last team standing isn't just a tribute to their elite preparation, execution and talent- it's delivering on the promise of their endless taunting.

"It's the bad-boy mentality that Kylo and his teammates embody. Kylo hits you and then he stands over you and tells you how much better he is than you. He wants you to know that you're going to be beaten by any means necessary," one current NHL player told ESPN. "Kylo is going to do everything he can to embarrass you, not only physically but on the scoreboard."

It's the provocation from players such as Kylo Ren and Armitage Hux that created the poisonous mystique around the league’s most successful team. It's their ability to dish it out and gleefully take it, such as the time when Finn Jones belly laughed at the captain of the Hosnian Harriers after being bloodied in a fight with another player. Or Poe Dameron’s penchant of letting loose with his fists at the slightest encouragement.

It's the opposition goalies with whom Kylo collides with a plausible deniability of guilt. It's his team’s ability to draw penalties but not take them. "They seem to get away with more than we do. It's tough to find the line," another player lamented during the Stanley Cup Final.

And what does Kylo Ren think about the fact that some have labelled the Black Dragons a mob of agitating bullies? His bored shrug says it all. “We play fast and physical. At the end of the day, we’re willing to do things on the ice others are scared of, and that’s on them.”

The antagonism and swagger of the Black Dragons are the sweeteners for one of the best recipes for success the league has seen cooked up: offensive domination, defensive suffocation, and about a dozen players that always seem to rise to the occasion. Led by Kylo Ren.

Long live the King… of the Underworld.

A shiver crept down Rey’s spine. The article made Kylo Ren sound like the bad guy in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Is that why your cheeks are hot and your hand is stroking your thigh?

Rey tightened that hand into a fist. It didn’t matter if Kylo Ren was as terrifying as Darth Vader come to life, he was the one she was waiting for. She’d been looking for him for eight years. For someone, anyone with a connection to her past.

Rey drew a shaky breath as she traced the jagged scar on the savage hockey player’s face. Already her plans were readjusting around this man.

Buckle up, buttercup. I’m coming for you.

There was a silver lining when it came to living a life shattered into a million tiny, unrecognizable pieces- because Rey Niima had nothing left to lose.

Chapter Text

Two and a half years later

Rey sat in the stands of Coruscant Arena listening to the sounds of the Black Dragons wrapping up practice, unable to believe she was there.

It had taken months of research and careful preparation, and a planned encounter made to look like pure chance, but she was now on the cusp of meeting the focus of her obsessive desires.

Definitely.

Surely.

Hopefully?

Rose had said not to hold her breath, that team practice could be chaotic and she might not meet Kylo Ren, but this was closer than Rey ever expected to get.

Do or do not. There is no try. The inspirational quote from Mike Yoda, the Black Dragons’ quirky little coach, had been her mantra since the first day she began researching everything Kylo.

She wasn’t the only person spectating practice. Several reporters were present, including the shiny blonde head of Kaydel Ko Connix. Rey was grateful to the glamorous reporter since it was her article that had alerted Rey to the presence of Kylo Ren in the first place, but she was also wary of the other woman. Kaydel seemed to have as much of a fixation on Kylo and his team as she did.

It's her job, Rey. What’s your excuse?

Oh yeah, you’re hoping one of the world’s most successful athletes is about to reveal to you the secrets of your past.

She stopped glaring at Kaydel’s svelte figure in a skintight emerald skirt suit and made herself take stock of her surroundings instead. Now was not the time for silly mistakes.

There was a group of people taking a tour of the arena. Dozens of team administrators and coaches stood in groups on the outskirts of the ice. And, of course, there were the players. The big, bad hockey players.

Rey had the notes app on her phone open as usual, but she wasn’t able to type a single thing. It sat in her lap, one hand glued around her glitter pink case, squeezing hard. Her heart knocked in her ribcage like an out-of-control woodpecker. Having watched hundreds of hours of Black Dragons matches, she thought she knew what to expect, but the reality of Kylo Ren was mind blowing.

Kylo was magnificent on ice, and Rey couldn’t seem to tear her eyes off him. His behaviour during practice differed from what she’d seen at game time. He was a lot more zen, even producing a single rare smile, and the memory of that smile was churning her guts into something resembling the contents of a milkshake machine. Maybe he wasn’t such a scary asshole as the media painted him out to be? Kaydel had certainly done her part in ensuring he had the reputation of the devil himself.

Kylo was the captain, and as such he was doing a lot of gesturing and conferring with his teammates and coaches. The fans and commentators called him the King of the Underworld, and she could see why. The way he held himself reminded her of royalty, though she couldn’t recall the last time a monarch looked quite so murderous.

But it wasn’t just his leadership skills. He moved like a magician, stopping on a dime, spraying ice in a chilly plume. Switching back and forth between mocking and bantering to fast and capable in seconds.

Rey was having flashbacks to the last two and a bit years of research she’d devoted to this man. Kylo Ren a wall between the puck and the goal. Kylo Ren bloodying his opponents in savage beatdowns. Kylo Ren lifting trophies. Kylo, Kylo, Kylo.

He’d become a strangely reassuring part of her life… and a daily discomfort.

Rey sat squirming on the bench, refusing to acknowledge the slickness at the junction of her thighs. Her dreams had morphed into a thing of confusion- half nightmarish past, and half erotic thrillers starring Kylo Ren.

A loud slam shot Rey’s heart up into her mouth. Kylo was vying for the puck with one of his teammates, Finn Jones.

A whistle blew somewhere, ending the play, and both men were suddenly standing at her end of the rink. They looked straight up at Rey.

Oh. My. Gawd. Kylo Ren. Staring right at her.

Was that his back stiffening? Did she just see his plush mouth tighten? Were the black pupils of his eyes expanding, obliterating the pretty amber of his irises?

Did he recognise her?

All of a sudden, Finn grinned around his mouthpiece, using the end of his stick to salute Rey. Kylo turned to glare at him from two feet away. Not knowing what else to do, Rey raised her hand in a weak wave.

Finn rapped his glove against the glass. “You’re Rose’s friend, right? She didn’t tell me you were so pretty.”

Kylo took out his legs with a hard sweep of his stick, leaving Finn flat on his back.

“Hey! Whaddya do that for?” Finn complained.

Rey couldn’t make out the words Kylo said while bending over his prone teammate, but a lot of them began with the letter F.

The two men skated away when Coach Yoda brought the Black Dragons together at the bench for feedback from several members of staff, after which they exited the ice through the tunnel. Kylo shot her a look over one broad shoulder as he departed, his expression strangely hostile.

She shivered, and it wasn’t the sexy kind.

Don’t be ridiculous, Rey. That’s just his resting hockey face.

But what if Kylo did know her? What then?

“Did you have fun, Rey?” Rose Tico stood smiling at her from the concrete steps on her left, dressed in blue jeans and a black and red Black Dragons hooded sweater.

“It was incredible,” Rey gushed, jumping up to give her a hug.

Rose was the reason Rey was inside the arena at all. The pretty brunette had a headful of shiny mahogany hair that fell to her shoulders in loose waves, big brown eyes that shone with sincerity, and the happy personality of a woodland creature in an animated movie. She also had no idea that Rey was her friend thanks to strategic plotting.

Of all the things Rey needed to do to reach her goals, she was the least comfortable with the stalking. But a stalker she’d become.

While looking up ways of becoming close to multi-million dollar pro hockey players, she’d discovered something interesting. It turned out the best and brightest at Coruscant U’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences were able to earn themselves internships with the Black Dragons while working on physiotherapy degrees. It was a coveted placement and a huge opportunity for those chosen.

It took Rey dedicated study and zero social life to score herself a scholarship to Coruscant U, but that was only her first step. Of course, she enrolled to do a degree in physiotherapy, but it would be another three years before she was eligible for the internship programme. Which was when it occurred to her that there was a shortcut available, such as becoming besties with one of the current interns and gaining access to the Black Dragons through them.

Rey proceeded to research her seniors with the same amount of enthusiasm she gave to everything Kylo Ren.

First off was Cee Threepio, a young man with the soul of a robot in the body of a beanpole. He was next level brilliant and made it clear to both faculty and students that he had no interest in hanging out with anyone who couldn’t advance his promising career. Which included Rey.

Next up was Babu Frik, who looked at Rey like she was an insect to be stepped on the one time she’d accidentally-on-purpose bumped into him in the quad. Babu was connected and didn’t actually need the internship to ensure his bright prospects. The people in his sphere came from money, drove European cars, and dressed in designer clothing. Rey couldn’t compete.

And finally, there was Rose. Sweet, generous Rose Tico with her perfect GPA and social media presence that boasted family photos of the kind Rey ached to have as her own. In the end, it was so easy befriending Rose that Rey almost felt bad. Almost.

She followed Rose for a few weeks, and after establishing her fairly predictable routine, ran into her on a cobblestoned path that led to the university library. Rey made sure to knock Rose’s drink to the ground, and then insisted she take her own untouched cup as an apology.

After one sip, Rose realised Rey’s drink was her preferred order of spiced Mexican chocolate cold brew over ice with full cream milk. What were the chances? And thus, a friendship was born.

A genuine friendship, as it turned out. In the last couple of months, Rey found herself confiding in Rose about things she hadn’t told anyone else. The reality of surviving the foster system. The truth that she had an empty bank account even with her scholarship. And the fact that she was the hugest fan of the Black Dragons.

“I’m done for the day,” Rose informed her as Rey collected her stuff, tucking items into a pink backpack with puffy silver unicorn appliqués. “I thought we could hang by the team exit for a while and see what players we meet.”

“OMG, seriously?” Rey squealed, not having to fake a droplet of excitement.

Ten minutes later, Rey and Rose stood at the end of a long, brightly lit tunnel by a set of double doors, not far from the locker room. Rey could hear metal doors slamming, yelling, laughter, running showers… Nope, she was not allowed to think about Kylo Ren and showers… Kylo naked under a shower… Kylo with soap bubbles sliding down his broad, muscular back, and over the curve of his hard, perfect ass…

Rey chewed on her lower lip so hard she feared it might bleed.

Stop it, Rey. You can’t have a bloody lip the first time you meet Kylo Ren. You don’t want him to think of you as the crazy girl with the vampire mouth from that one time.

“You okay?”

Rey looked over at Rose and saw her friend’s expression was a mixture of amused and concerned. “I- yes- sorry- I’m just nervous.”

Good going, Niima. You’ve been waiting to meet Kylo for years, and now your brain has decided to stop working.

“Don’t be,” Rose said soothingly. “They’re really great guys.” She hesitated. “Well, some of them are nice.”

Having grilled Rose in the past, Rey already knew the brunette considered Kylo one of the more stand-offish players on the team.

Rey didn’t care. That just meant Kylo was deep and mysterious. Who wanted a guy who was outgoing and obvious? Not her.

Good grief, I’ve lost my mind.

Just then, three players emerged from the chaos. Finn Jones. Armitage Hux. And Kylo ‘King of the Underworld’ Ren.

Kylo’s hair was wet from the shower Rey had determinedly tried not to think about, and he was still in the process of pulling on his t-shirt. As in, he wasn’t wearing a t-shirt. There was absolutely nothing covering smooth slabs of muscle or the intricate black ink dragon tattoo she’d seen revealed in a Tom Ford fashion campaign. Or the dark treasure trail of hair under his navel.

And then one of his shirtsleeves got caught, and he cursed, twisting the fabric to correct the angle, and everything flexed all at once… including his eight pack.

Rey nearly dropped her bag alongside her jaw. A rush of desire made her intimate muscles clench, and she wondered if this was what it was like to actually want a man. Of everything that was supposed to happen today, Kylo accidentally flashing her had not been on her bingo card.

This was too much for their first meeting. Her hormones were multiplying like fluffy white bunnies. How was she supposed to talk to the guy in this state? How was she supposed to breathe?

Finally, he got his shirt down and continued his long-legged stride in her direction. Drawing ever closer like a wet dream come to life.

Rey was so focused on Kylo, she jumped when Finn spoke first. “Rosie! I knew you’d want my autograph one day.”

When Rose didn’t answer, Rey tore her gaze from Kylo’s scowling mien to find her friend staring at Armitage Hux with the same muddled confusion Rey was feeling for his teammate.

Rose had never indicated she liked Hux before. Interesting.

But the distraction only lasted a second because, freaking hell, suddenly Rey was staring up at Kylo Ren, his chiselled face with its famous scar so close she could reach out and touch it. Kylo looked at her but said nothing, his expression as inscrutable as a sphinx.

“She’s not here for you, dumbass,” Hux growled at Finn, still looking down at his phone.

While Finn was compact and muscular, Hux was built more like Kylo, maybe an inch shorter and a few pounds leaner, his dark red hair and ocean blue eyes making him stand out in a crowd. Unless that crowd included Kylo, at which point he faded into the background like so much wallpaper.

“Kylo, I wanted to introduce you to my friend,” Rose announced. “Rey’s, like, your biggest fan.”

Rey felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She was there supposedly as a shameless autograph hunter, but she hadn’t expected Rose to be quite so blunt about it. She would’ve shot her friend a ‘be cool’ glare, except the brunette was still watching Hux with cow eyes.

Great. She was on her own.

“I- I’m very pleased to meet you, Mr R-”

“Are you a student at Coruscant U?” Kylo growled.

Did his voice have to be so deep and smooth? It was like whiskey, the expensive kind and not the cheap stuff one of her foster fathers kept in a plastic tumbler on his nightstand. As if any of them had been fooled by Owen’s sleepy time juice.

Focus, Rey.

She replied, “Er, yes.”

She speaks! Give her a prize, folks!

“Since when?”

Was she crazy or was Kylo interrogating her? “I-I’m studying physiotherapy like Rose, but I’m in my freshman year.”

Kylo’s scowl deepened. “You live in Coruscant now?”

Rey blinked in confusion. It was as if he knew she wasn’t from around there. Their conversation wasn’t going at all how she thought it would.

Just then, the click-clack of stiletto heels announced the arrival of Kaydel Ko Connix, former Miss America contestant and current sports journalist for Channel Seven News: Connecting You to the World. Just to prove she was a mere mortal and not a goddess, Kaydel had placed first runner up in her pageant year.

Rey was dismayed to find Kaydel even prettier up close than she appeared onscreen, her honey blonde hair in a high, sleek ponytail and her sapphire eyes sparkling in fluorescent lighting. “What are you doing hanging around the tunnels, Kylo?” she asked, glossy lips softening into a pout. “You know I’ve been waiting for you.”

“You’re not the only one,” a new voice said silkily. “I was told I had a meeting with Kylo for my latest ad campaign.”

Rey’s heart dropped as another exquisite blonde walked over to the group flanked by three stressed-out assistants. It seemed Kylo attracted beautiful women like a MAC Cosmetics blowout sale.

The newcomer was over six feet in height with perfectly pressed white gold curls and eyes like blue summer skies. Her handsome face was flawlessly made up, her statuesque body draped in a champagne gold silk dress with matching gold pumps. Rey wondered whether she’d been a model once because the woman looked strangely familiar.

“Stop ambushing me, Phasma,” Kylo snapped, sounding more annoyed than impressed by the blonde beauty. He spared Rey a concerned glance which confused her. “I’m not about to become the face of your male cosmetics line. Get someone else.”

That’s who she was. Rey knew she’d recognised the other woman. Gwen Phasma was a billionaire cosmetics mogul with a presence that dominated the social media sphere.

“I know it isn’t your thing, Kylo, but imagine this for inspiration,” Phasma purred. “A little black eyeliner, some pewter nail polish, and a black leather cowl that will have you looking like the actual King of the Underworld.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing that,” Finn blurted out, drawing a scowl from Kylo.

“And you’d be doing me a personal favour,” Phasma continued with a sly wink. “A favour I could repay in interesting ways.”

“Not even if my balls were on fire and you were the only woman in the world with a bucket of water,” Kylo growled.

“Now, now. Never say never.” Phasma’s polished peach fingernails rested on Kylo’s broad chest and Rey felt her insecurities evaporate, leaving behind seething jealousy so intense her eyes must have turned pure green.

Someone was about to get their face smashed in if they didn’t back the hell away from her man.

Wait, what? That was mighty presumptuous of her.

Just then, Rey looked up and locked eyes with Kylo. His expression startled her enough that she forgot about wanting to destroy Phasma.

Because the baddest mofo in the National Hockey League was looking at her with something akin to fear.

Chapter Text

Fuck, fuck, fuckity-fuck. What the fuck was Rey doing appearing before him like a magical genie?

Not the fat blue one, but the pretty kind wearing a politically incorrect harem girl outfit. If Kylo had his way, he’d stuff Rey back into her lamp and toss it over the side of a boat to sink to the bottom of the ocean where she’d never be found.

He couldn’t believe it when he first spotted her in the stands, eyes bright and cheeks flushed. Looking like she was happy to see him.

And she was, as it turned out. According to Rose, Rey was his number one fan.

What the actual fuck?

When he exited the locker room and caught sight of her waiting for him like a literal light at the end of a tunnel, a strange resignation had overtaken him. Fuck it. Maybe it was time he faced his past instead of burying it and pretending like nothing had ever happened.

He’d come to a stop before the slender female with her smooth chestnut red buns of hair wrapped in pink ribbon, dressed in a short pink puffer jacket she’d paired with a frayed denim miniskirt, knee high white boots and a sparkly pink bag complementing the ensemble. He’d looked deep into shimmering hazel green eyes… and realised… Rey didn’t know him at all.

Fuck.

Instead of feeling relieved, he became mad. What the hell? Had she forgotten him?

This is a good thing, numbnuts. Do you really want Rey complicating your life with what happened ten years ago? She was a child and you were barely grown.

She’d been eight years old when they met, and he a gangly eighteen.

Truth be told, Rey was acting like every breathless female fan he’d encountered until Kaydel and Phasma arrived on the scene. Kay had her own reasons for wanting to be close to him and Phasma’s goal was purely business- well, maybe not purely- but when the blonde bombshell stroked his chest, Rey’s starry-eyed expression disappeared.

He caught her glaring at Phasma’s manicured hand as if she wanted to chop it off with an axe, and Kylo was immediately concerned. He was also more than a little intrigued.

Looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Surely not. This was Rey standing in front of him.

And what do you know about her after a decade of silence?

The smart thing to do was stay away. He’d already exposed himself by asking Rey all those questions. There was no doubt Hux and Finn would be on his case after this, wanting to know if he was interested in screwing the pretty little co-ed.

“Actually, Kylo,” Rose spoke up, “I brought Rey here for more than just an autograph.”

Kylo’s spine stiffened, and Rey appeared just as surprised. It seemed neither one of them knew what Rose was up to.

“Are you still looking for a private chef?” Rose continued. “Rey is an amazing cook, and with her physiotherapy background, she’ll know the exact questions to ask the team nutritionist before prepping your meals.”

“Rose, what…?” Rey’s lower lip fell open. Her soft pink petal of a lip.

Stop looking at her lips, moron.

“Are you seriously suggesting that the Kylo Ren hires an unqualified college student to take care of his diet?” Phasma scoffed.

“It’s not that hard,” Kylo heard himself say. “I just don’t have the time to do it myself.”

Rey turned to look at him like he was an actual Greek god and not just the King of the Underworld to the hockey world. “I could totally cook for you,” she breathlessly declared. “I’ve had to look after myself my whole life, and a healthy diet is a component of the physio degree I’m studying.”

I’ve had to look after myself my whole life… Rey’s words rang in Kylo’s ear like a clanging cymbal. Why was she lying? What exactly was going on here?

He took a step back and the excitement on her face faded. “Would you like me to start on a trial basis?” she pushed, not wanting to let go of a golden opportunity. “After a couple of weeks of meal prep, you can decide if you want to go ahead.”

Kylo had no doubt that if he was forced to interact with Rey in any significant way, he’d want to keep her. He was playing with fire just standing there talking to her. “I need someone full time, and you’re still a student. Your schedule won’t allow the kind of attention to detail I require.”

Rey’s smile disappeared, making him want to retract his statement, but Rose stepped up at once. “What if Rey moved in with you, Kylo? You said the other day your penthouse has five guest bedrooms. Rey would have quick and easy access to your kitchen.”

Rey would also have quick and easy access to him, and Kylo knew he shouldn’t like the way that sounded.

“Rose, what the hell?” Hux snarled. “Since when did you become this pushy?”

Rose glared at him. “Maybe you don’t know me after all.”

Kylo frowned at his teammate. He’d suspected for a while that something was going on between Rose and Hux, but they’d always been careful about the way they interacted in public. Not anymore, apparently.

Rey was looking odd as well. “Rose, is this because of what we talked about last night? I didn’t tell you my money problems so that you could go begging for a job for me.” She turned to Kylo. “I’m sorry, Mr Ren. Rose means well, but I won’t accept charity from anyone.”

Rey had money problems? Who was she kidding? She must be lying to Rose too.

“You might not accept charity, but what about an actual job? I could use a private chef since Kylo doesn’t want you.”

Kylo swallowed a growl as the whole group, Rey included, stared at the newcomer. Poe Dameron had just rolled up to them, a sunny smile on his handsome face, dark curls shiny with moisture and olive complexion glowing.

“What the fuck, Dameron?” Kylo growled.

Poe’s smile only broadened. He loved kicking over a hornet’s nest for the sheer mayhem it caused. “It would save me from having to look for a chef.”

“Are you serious?” Kaydel said, appalled. “Poe, you know nothing about this girl.”

“I know she’s cute,” Poe countered, delivering a wink in Rey’s direction.

Rey blushed, and Kylo had to stop himself from balling up his fist and cracking his teammate’s square jaw.

“So now you’re into jailbait?” Kaydel hissed, her tone venomous. “That’s great- the news writes itself.”

“I’m almost nineteen,” Rey interjected.

“Yeah, Kay,” Poe snickered, throwing an arm around Rey’s shoulders. “Reyrey here is almost nineteen. You journalists need to get your facts straight.”

“Rey will be fine with Poe,” Finn spoke irritably, losing his jocular attitude for once. “People need to watch their mouths. Unfounded rumours can damage reputations.”

Phasma had been watching proceedings like a leopard lazing in the sun, but all of a sudden her expression changed, her eyes narrowing to slits. “What did you say your name was again?” she demanded, looking at Rey.

Uh-oh.

Kylo couldn’t remain on the sidelines any longer. Avoiding Phasma, he snarled at Poe, “Stop touching what isn’t yours, flyboy.” Shoving at his teammate’s arm, he dragged Rey to his side. He knew he sounded unhinged when he announced, “Rey’s with me.”

He yanked her away from the crowd using a curling manoeuvre that would have had his legions of fans frothing at the mouth, hustling her down the corridor and pushing past double doors towards the arena parking lot.

“M-Mr Ren?” Rey gasped as they fast approached his gleaming black Mercedes-Benz G-wagon.

“Call me Kylo, princess,” he said, heart twisting inside his formidable chest. The last time he’d used the endearment, things had not gone well for either one of them.

“I, er, th-thank you, but you- could you slow down?”

Kylo picked her up in one arm without pausing, and ignoring the hitch in her breath, he carried Rey to his car. He frowned at a black garbed parking attendant standing in his way, but the tall man scurried into the shadows as he drew closer. At least, he assumed it was a man. Since when did the arena have roaming attendants in black hoodies and dark glasses?

It took Kylo a minute to get Rey strapped in before peeling out of the parking lot with a screech of tires. The atmosphere in the car thickened to a soupy consistency within seconds.

Rey. Rey was here. Seated beside him.

At long last.

This was not the reunion he’d expected. In fact, he’d given up on ever seeing her again. This time the instinct to protect her was complicated by the fact that she was a gorgeous young woman rather than an innocent little girl.

“Do you think Poe Dameron was serious about wanting a private chef?” Rey asked somewhat breathlessly.

Kylo glared at her. “What did I say?”

She stared back at him. “That I didn’t fit what you needed cause you want someone full time.”

She wasn’t wrong there. “You’re not working for Dameron. You and I will sort something out.”

“Really?” Rey looked at him with big heart eyes, and the emotions that swelled Kylo’s lungs had him worried. The last time he’d felt this way was a decade ago.

Maybe it wasn’t his reaction that was the problem. Maybe it was her. Rey.

“We’ll do a trial run like you suggested,” he muttered.

Rey bounced in his car’s luxurious leather seat like a happy little kangaroo. “Where are we going, by the way?” She giggled. “I probably should’ve asked you that already.”

Did this girl have no sense of self-preservation?

You already know the answer to that question. Apparently, some things don’t change, not even after a decade.

“My place,” he replied gruffly.

Was this really happening? Everything inside him screamed caution.

He hadn’t lived with another human being since the day he left home. Even his cleaning service came by on a schedule, the maid entering and exiting his apartment without a trace. It was how he liked things.

His sexual encounters were similarly no muss, no fuss. He enjoyed dark and dirty up to point, and that limit was his own independence. It was why he and Phasma hadn’t worked out years ago. The gorgeous blonde was a force of nature in bed, but she wanted to be queen and Kylo was no woman’s subject. Simply put, the word ‘compromise’ wasn’t in his vocabulary.

He didn’t need a girlfriend hanging off his arm, and he refused to pretend with any of his hook-ups that he was after more than a one-night stand. As time went on and his kinks didn’t change, Kylo began to think he’d die alone in the bed of a high-class call girl. It was only what he deserved.

But along came Rey, and five minutes in her company already had him acting like a possessive caveman. All he needed was a wooden club to bloody Poe before he dragged Rey away by her shiny pretty hair.

You did drag her away from Poe, dumbass.

His friends weren’t going to let him live it down.

“Where do you stay, Mr- I mean, Kylo?” Rey asked sweetly.

“Not much further,” he snapped.

He needed to hit the eject button on this whole situation right now, but he couldn’t seem to do much more than wave a hand at the luxury residential apartment complex on their left so she knew it was their destination.

Was he really about to let Rey into his home? Into his life?

Your only other option is to allow Poe’s grubby mitts all over your princess.

Nope, that was no option at all, though he had his suspicions about Poe.

“Here we are,” he said as he pushed Rey into one of three sleek bronze elevators, exiting his building’s underground carpark.

He tapped a security access card against a black panel, and Rey shamelessly oohed when the top floor lit up. “You live in the penthouse. Cool!”

A smile cracked the surface of his face. “Where do you live?”

“In my dorm room,” she replied.

“I mean where do you live when you’re not at school.”

Rey looked down at her feet. “Nowhere, really. I haven’t figured it out yet.”

What was that supposed to mean? Before Kylo could ask another question, the elevator doors slid open once more.

“Fancy meeting you here, hot stuff,” a syrupy voice declared.

He smothered a groan when Bazine Netal walked in, her breasts like two beach balls tied to her rail thin chest, her body eighty percent plastic. She was attractive if you were into that kind of thing, skintight orange leggings revealing the shape of toned legs and a tiny neon yellow crop top barely able to contain her obviously fake milkshakes.

He said nothing, but Baz would not be deterred. The woman was hardcore in her own right, even if her brand of expression was sluttiness, unlike Rey with her glitter pink phone cover and puffy pink jacket and sunshine smiles… which was when he realised his sweetheart was watching Bazine as if she was a rattlesnake in the wild and Rey was the snake wrangler sent to end her life.

As far as Baz was concerned, men were targets and women were competition. A guy like Kylo- a successful male athlete with money- was Bazine’s definition of nirvana.

“Have you thought about my dinner invitation?” Bazine purred, leaning into him so her tits brushed against his arm.

“I’ve been busy,” Kylo replied in a bored voice.

“Of course, you are. Winning all those trophies must be hard work.” Bazine’s shrill laughter filled the elevator and Kylo watched a muscle jump in Rey’s cheek.

The doors opened on Bazine’s floor. “Don’t forget my offer, Kylo. You can always stop by my place to,” she winked, “release any post-game tension.”

He didn’t respond as the doors closed again.

“Does that happen a lot?” Rey demanded once they were alone. “Women throwing themselves at you?”

Kylo glanced at her curiously. Rey had the same expression on her face when Phasma touched him, an expression that reminded him of the monster who’d changed his life.

You can’t have this girl in your home. Bad blood runs in her veins.

That’s not true. She’s nothing like him.

Are you sure?

But it didn’t matter- Kylo’s mind was made up. He’d keep Rey close, the better to watch over her.

At least, that was what he told himself. Never mind the spark of desire burning low in his belly.

Chapter Text

Rey stepped into an apartment so gorgeous it defied belief.

The main living room overlooked the Coruscant city skyline with floor to ceiling windows guaranteeing an uninterrupted view. A large and luxurious pearl grey rug lay on polished dark wood floors, it’s square housing a collection of smoke grey and mahogany wood furniture, including an eight-seater couch, three armchairs, and a hexagonal coffee table made from black and white marble.

A bar in the same rich, dark wood with a display of expensive liquor and wine bottles ran along one side of the apartment, and on the far end of the room, much to Rey’s surprise, was a gleaming white grand piano. A staircase of polished steel steps with clear glass balusters led to a second floor, and she couldn’t help but wonder what else was up there.

Kylo came to stand by her side. “You should see the rooftop pool and garden.”

“Wow,” was all Rey could manage as she tried to close her flapping jaw.

This couldn’t be real. Had Rose really just helped her score a job with Kylo Ren himself? Her thoughts stuttered, because something wasn’t right with Rose. And what the hell was going on between her friend and Armitage Hux?

Focus, Rey. Now is not the time.

Not when she finally had Kylo all to herself.

Things had played out so much better than she could’ve hoped for, except she might lose it all again if she didn’t manage herself. She was acting like a trashy reality TV cast-off when what she needed to be was professional. She was here to work, after all.

The expression on Kylo’s face told her he’d noticed her furious reaction to both Phasma and Bazine, but it wasn’t something she could control. The depth of rage that flooded her veins startled her. She’d never felt that way before.

You need to cool your jets. Having weird dreams was bad enough, she wasn’t about to add psychotic tantrums to her list of problems.

Kylo was an athlete at the top of his game with endorsement deals that meant his chiselled face and hulking body could be seen both in the glossy pages of Vogue and plastered across ginormous billboards. Of course he had women falling at his feet all day every day. She had no right acting like a gatekeeping crazy ex-girlfriend. Kylo was already on the fence about making her his personal chef, and she didn’t need to give him another reason to get rid of her.

“So, um, where’s the kitchen?”

That’s right, pretend you’re all about the fake reason why you’re here.

It turned out the bar acted as a room divider, and Kylo led her around the mahogany woodwork to reveal more fancy spaces. A stylish steel and marble dining table with three circular pendant lights hovering above it could easily seat twenty, and the kitchen with its black and white marble countertops and dark wood cabinetry had every possible appliance a chef required.

“Is this okay?” Kylo asked, so nonchalantly Rey suspected he’d no idea just how good he had it.

“This is perfect,” she breathed.

You. You’re perfect.

Slow your roll, girl.

What heck was going on with her? She was here on a mission, and falling in love with Kylo was not part of the plan.

Oh God, she falling in love with the King of the Underworld, wasn’t she?

She wanted to deny it, except the level of excitement she was feeling just being around him was embarrassing. Despite being dressed in sweatpants, the Black Dragons hoodie he’d pulled on in the car, and with his freshly showered hair still wet and floppy, Kylo was the sun itself. A grumpy, scowly sun, but still.

Who knew he’d be so protective? Rey still tingled at the memory of him grabbing her by the waist and lifting her into his arms. Kylo even buckled her seatbelt after gently placing her in his car. He’d been so careful with her that some random sketchy guy in the parking lot had turned to stare at them through dark glasses.

There was nothing Rey wanted more than to head back to her dorm room and slide under the covers with a vibrator, she was so turned on.

No, that wasn’t true. She wanted to be in the present with him more than she longed to masturbate to thoughts of him. But just barely.

Get a hold of yourself, Niima!

“I should congratulate you on your win last weekend,” she blurted out.

Kylo nodded. “Yeah, that was a good game.”

“You and Hux work so well together on the ice. It’s like you’re reading each other’s minds.”

To her surprise, he turned serious, bracing his hands on the spotless kitchen counter and staying silent for a few beats. When he spoke next, she was shocked by what he revealed. “Hux is officially retiring after this season. He told me before practice.”

Rey gasped. Kylo ‘King of the Underworld’ Ren and Armitage ‘Iceman’ Hux were institutions, beloved by their fans and legends in their own time. The news was devastating.

“Oh, no,” she said, approaching Kylo slowly. “How do you feel about it?”

He frowned, his next response abrupt. “Not great, obviously.”

Rey wasn’t deterred by his tone. Kylo had told her something personal. Private. She should keep him talking. “Why would Hux retire? It can’t be his age.”

“He’s a year younger than me. Only twenty-seven.”

“I hope it’s not because of an injury.”

“No, that’s not it.” Kylo glanced at her, uncertain.

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise,” Rey assured him. “I’m barely on social media.” Except to cyberstalk potential targets.

He grunted in response. “Hux would stay on and play until the world ran out of ice, but…” Kylo paused. “It’s his dad. Brendol Hux considers hockey a hobby, not a career. He’s putting pressure on Hux to quit and join the family business.”

As much as Rey hated how unsettled Kylo was feeling, she couldn’t help but bask in the fact that he was confiding in her. She had so many secrets to figure out about herself, she never once considered how good it might feel to be someone else’s secret keeper, holding their worries and concerns, helping to lighten the burden.

And to have Kylo himself talk to her about his problems… it was a treasure she’d never let go. This man had worked his way up to the highest level of his profession. He’d honed his talent with blood, sweat, and tears day after day. And while the whole world believed he was surrounded by the titanium armour of success and arrogance, after watching hundreds of post-match interviews, Rey realised he barely spoke about himself. His focus was always the team.

She thought carefully before replying. “You can’t control the actions of others. You can support your friend, be there for him, but in the end he’ll make his own decisions. Even if Hux decides to leave the team… I know you’ll be okay. You sacrifice everything for the W, and the fans know it.” She used the NHL colloquialism like a seasoned pro, the W referring to a win.

Kylo chuckled. “You gonna start spouting off my stats for the season too?”

A smile lit up her face. “Would that make you feel better?”

He just shook his head, falling silent once more. But it was a warm, companionable silence.

This is it, Rey. Here’s your opportunity.

“I’ve always wondered, Kylo, how did you get the scar on your face?”

His mellow expression hardened like setting cement. “Don’t you remember?”

“H-how would I know?” she asked, a strange queasiness in her belly.

“I thought you were a fan. You must have read about it somewhere.”

But Kylo wasn’t looking at her, and Rey was certain that wasn’t what he’d meant. “I watched an interview where you said it happened after a skating accident, but… I don’t know why, I never bought the story.”

He took a step towards her, and then another, and another. Until she was crowded up against the kitchen counter, cold marble biting into her skin. He was breathing hard, nostrils flared and amber eyes like flame. Just like in her dreams. Her nightmares.

It was him. It had to be him all twisted up in her past.

Did he have to look so hot when he was mad? But why was he mad? And was it with her, or because of something else?

Kylo’s next words had Rey scrambling. “Why do you like unicorns?” he asked, tapping her backpack.

Because it’s the one thing I remember my grandfather buying me. “I- I don’t know. My tastes have always been kinda girly.”

He looked disappointed by her reply, as if he knew she was lying. Kylo backed away, and Rey nearly grabbed the hem of his hoodie to keep him close. Already she missed his heat and presence.

His next statement confused her. “Did you recognise Gwen Phasma?”

“Phasma?” Rey repeated. “Not at first, though I thought she looked familiar. Then I realised her face is all over TikTok and Instagram. That must be how I know her.” The unnerving blonde had turned her laser sharp gaze on Rey towards the end, but Kylo had hustled her away before she could figure out what Phasma wanted.

“You should move in as soon as possible.”

“What?” Rey exclaimed. She was sure she’d blown it and Kylo was about to revoke their deal. “Didn’t you want a trial period?”

He shrugged. “Might as well do it properly. Living with me does free up your schedule.”

“I’ll be packed in a couple of hours,” Rey said, not wanting to argue the point anymore. What was that saying about looking a gift horse in the mouth? She’d be an idiot not to take advantage of an opportunity like this.

Kylo would leave his apartment sooner or later and she’d be able to go through his bedroom, maybe even his computer.

It’s not like you’re betraying him- you’re only looking for the truth.

“Most college kids need a whole weekend to empty their dorm. Are you into the minimalist lifestyle or something?” Kylo asked, walking her back to the door.

She reached for her bag and so missed the look on his face when she laughingly replied, “Is ‘minimalist’ the posh way of saying someone’s poor and has no stuff?”

It took Rey ten minutes on a Coruscant city public tram to arrive at school, which was when she realised not only had her deviousness paid off, but life was also showering her with those lucky breaks other kids seemed to take for granted. She had a paying job with a world famous hockey player and her new home was the kind of apartment that belonged on a House & Garden magazine cover. All she had to do now was dig up the secrets of her past…

Rey was itching to get packed, but she decided to drop by Rose’s sorority house first. She needed to check in on her friend.

“Hey you,” Rey said, sticking her head inside the senior girl’s bedroom with its mix of Banksy and Lady Pink murals. Rose might be studying physiotherapy to please her immigrant parents, but she had the soul of an artist.

“Hey,” Rose said, forcing a smile onto sombre features. She was sitting up in bed, a textbook on her lap and her phone in one hand, scrolling through Armitage Hux’s personal Instagram account. Even Kylo had one, though Rey suspected his was curated by a media team.

Rey sat on the other end of the bed. “You did it, you Machiavellian genius. I’m moving in with Kylo Ren as his personal chef, until such time I mess up and he kicks me out again.”

“You won’t mess up,” Rose said gloomily.

Right. Time to grab the bull by the horns. “So… you wanna explain why you used me in some kind of shadow game?”

Rose looked away, but she didn’t deny it. “You used me too.”

“Sure,” Rey agreed, “to score an autograph. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m deeply grateful for the job, and more so because I get to spend time with Kylo ‘King of the Underworld’ Ren. But what the hell, Rose? A little heads up would’ve been nice.”

“I didn’t plan any of it,” Rose admitted.

“Then why…?”

“Do you like Kylo’s apartment?” Rose interrupted.

Rey blinked. “Hell, yeah. It’s incredible.”

“Did he tell you Armitage Hux is his neighbour? The top floor has two penthouses, one on either side of the tower.”

“I knew it!” Rey squealed. “I thought I picked up a vibe between you and Hux! Is that why you got me the job? I’m totally down for infiltrating Kylo’s home as your personal spy.”

Rose’s expression remained strained. “You wouldn’t have to if Armi hadn’t just dumped me.”

Rey’s jaw dropped open. Oh wow, she really hadn’t done her homework, had she? “You and Hux are in a relationship?”

“Not anymore,” Rose said bitterly. “We started seeing each other in secret because Armi thought it would look bad if people found out he was dating a college intern working for the team. Things were going so well he agreed to make us Insta official once I’d graduated at the end of the year, and then today, out of nowhere, he broke up with me.”

Rey swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry, Rose.”

“I’m sorry too, Rey,” she sighed, shaking her head. “I hoped that if you started working for Kylo, I might be able to drop by and catch a glimpse of Armi at home. It’s pathetic.”

“Not pathetic at all,” Rey said staunchly. “Um, do you know why Hux broke it off with you?”

“Typical garbage reasons. It’s not you, it’s me. I have to focus on my future. I don’t have time for a relationship. Blah, blah, blah.”

Rey frowned to herself, remembering what Kylo had told her about Hux retiring. It sounded like the redhead hadn’t been honest with Rose, and it was on the tip of her tongue to tell her friend what she knew, except she’d promised Kylo she’d keep his confidence.

So you can make plans to rifle through Kylo’s drawers, but you won’t tell Rose his secrets?

She should start teaching a course on Hypocrisy 101.

As Rey sat and listened to Rose bemoan her broken relationship with Hux, it occurred to her that things were about to get very complicated now that Kylo was in her life.

Chapter Text

Kylo ‘King of the Underworld’ Ren was in a unique frame of mind considering he’d lost all the calculated control he was famous for on the ice.

His opponents often bemoaned it wasn’t just that he was a savage bastard, it was that he employed his savagery like a scalpel which made him so deadly. Except right now his legendary hands- capable, strong, and safe- were shaking with a deluge of emotion.

Kylo wasn’t sure what he was feeling. Anger, for sure. Guilt. Self-recrimination. And above it all, a torrent of shock that threatened to dismantle his world view.

Rey had moved into his apartment two nights ago, but he’d seen remarkably little of her. She rose early to prepare his meals, and he discovered her cooking inside his fridge, neatly packaged in matching Tupperware containers. Lots of fish and chicken sauteed or grilled in a variety of spices, measured amounts of complex carbohydrates for energy, and delicious medleys of vegetables. The girl definitely liked her garlic.

She’d even cooked bone broth to up his collagen intake to help strengthen tendons, ligaments, and cartilage- necessary for any athlete involved in a high impact sport. So far, he’d been both surprised by and impressed with her skills in the kitchen. He was sure she and Rose were scamming him, but it appeared Rey could cook.

With her classes and his practice, it was no wonder their paths hadn’t crossed, though a small part of him wondered if she was avoiding him. His door cam footage informed him that Rey left his home before six a.m. and returned after eleven o’ clock at night. Her hours struck him as extreme.

But that wasn’t why he was upset. He’d woken up to an e-mail that left him with a bad taste in his mouth.

Kylo called Coach Yoda to let him know he’d be late to practice due to a family emergency, and coach hadn’t argued this once. He headed to Coruscant’s central business district five minutes later.

His phone lit up with text messages from Kaydel demanding to know where he was but he didn’t bother replying. The blonde reporter could be needy like that.

Kylo aimed for a shining spire of golden glass that dominated a street of high-rises, striding past building security, using his own card to get to the top floor of Skywalker Tower. So overcome with emotion was he that for once he remained blind to the breathtaking view on display from behind an executive secretary’s polished desk.

Ahsoka Tano took one look at his face and let him through. The elegant older woman had worked long enough for Anakin Skywalker to realise the expression on Kylo’s face was new.

Pushing past double doors to Anakin’s office, Kylo heard Ahsoka, ever the professional, announce his arrival via intercom.

“What is it, Ben? Why are you here?”

The man seated behind a mammoth antique desk was tall and broad shouldered, dressed in a bespoke charcoal grey suit paired with a grey silk shirt and bronze monogrammed tie. His thick head of dark hair was streaked with silver, and he had eyes of wintery blue set deep in an undeniably handsome face. As a prophetic mirror of things to come, Kylo knew it was better than he could’ve hoped for.

Especially considering Anakin Skywalker was his grandfather.

“I told you not to call me Ben.” Kylo spoke in a mutinous tone, struggling to keep a lid on his famous temper. His mother referred to it as a family failing.

Anakin grimaced. “You’re the one who insisted on a re-brand. At least allow me the use of my grandson’s birth name in the privacy of my own office. After all, Ben Kenobi…”

“Yes, yes, you named me after your mentor,” Kylo impatiently interrupted.

“Not just my mentor, your parents cared for him too.”

“Forgive me if I don’t give a damn about some old man I’ve never met.”

Kylo expected Anakin to bite his head off over his rudeness, but those canny blue eyes narrowed. “What’s happened?”

He tossed the report he’d received by e-mail onto the immaculate surface of his grandfather’s desk. Anakin picked it up and began reading.

As the seconds ticked by, Kylo watched for a reaction, but Anakin’s expression remained unchanged. If anything, it grew colder.

“Where did you get this?”

“I used one of the detectives you have on retainer with Skywalker Enterprises,” Kylo informed him.

Anakin finally reacted. “You initiated the investigation? How could you be so reckless? Why open a can of worms when you can bury it instead?”

“I had no choice. Three days ago, Rey Palpatine walked up to me after hockey practice and asked for a job.”

“What?”

Satisfied he’d pierced his grandfather’s cool reserve at last, Kylo dropped into a seat on his side of the desk. “And in other news, Rey’s last name is now Niima.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Anakin snarled. “And why did the Palpatine girl show up at your work? Is she trying to blackmail you or simply ruin your reputation?”

Kylo gritted his teeth so hard he heard the click of bone. “You’re gonna love this, grandpa. Rey doesn’t seem to remember who I am.”

“Impossible. Why else would she approach you? She’s still a teenager, I’m guessing. How did she get access to you?”

“Through a Coruscant U internship programme,” Kylo replied briefly.

Anakin arched a dark brow. “That takes time and planning. What kind of game is the Palpatine Corporation playing at?”

“That’s just it. I don’t think she’s acting on behalf of the family.”

Anakin took a deep breath, pushing away from his desk and standing to his feet. “Ben Solo, don’t you let the little chit screw with your head.”

Simmering rage spiked. “Will you listen to me? Read the damn report for yourself. I’m good with computers and could have dug around without involving an outsider, but I wanted to be thorough. Especially when I couldn’t find Rey in the Coruscant U database.”

“Because of the name change,” Anakin grunted. “Fine. What did you discover about the girl?”

His grandfather’s continued reference to Rey as ‘the girl’ was irritating Kylo. “Rey Niima is an orphan who’s aged out of the foster system. She’s at college on scholarship, and has little to nothing in her bank accounts. Psychiatric reports in her file state that she’s suffering retrograde amnesia due to unspecified trauma. According to her doctors, she has no memories before the age of eight.”

Anakin was silent for a whole minute. “What the actual fuck?”

“On that we agree,” Kylo muttered, running a hand through his dark hair. “Rey came to me claiming financial difficulties. Considering her family’s wealth, I assumed she was lying to gain my sympathies, but it turns out she’s telling the truth. She’s been a ward of the state for the last ten years of her life, bouncing from one group home to the next. Everything she owns in the world fits inside a single suitcase.” He chose not to mention that said pink suitcase was currently parked in one of his five guest bedrooms.

“Ben, listen to me…”

“No, you fucking listen!” he roared, getting to his feet as well. “Ten years ago, you told me there was nothing I could do for Rey. You asked me to walk away. You said she’d be fine.” Kylo slammed a balled up fist on his grandfather’s desk. “She wasn’t fine!”

Anakin closed his eyes, and when he opened them again they blazed with rage that matched his grandson’s. “I’m sorry, my boy.”

The apology knocked the wind out of Kylo. “What the hell happened, grandpa?”

The CEO of Skywalker Enterprises grimaced. “I have no idea. When the girl disappeared from all news reports and family events, I assumed it was because she’d been shipped off to a Swiss boarding school to live out the rest of her days in peace. What kind of evil strips Rey of her family legacy and abandons her to the mercy of strangers?”

Kylo huffed. “The decision must’ve been made by someone deep inside Palpatine’s camp.”

“I wonder…” Anakin walked to the small bar tucked into a corner of his office and poured himself a scotch. “Want one?”

Kylo impatiently shook his head. “I have practice after this.”

“Of course you do,” his grandfather smirked.

Anakin’s attitude towards hockey was preferable to Hux’s dad in that he at least recognised the hard work and dedication required to maintain Kylo’s status as an elite athlete. His grandfather also enjoyed the reflected glory of having a multiple Stanley Cup winner who was a millionaire in his own right as a grandson. But just like Hux, there would come a time when Kylo would be expected to assume a role in the family business. Hence his Masters in Business from the same Coruscant U that now played host to Rey Palpatine… Niima.

Succession was a problem for another day. Right now, all Kylo could think about was Rey. Sweet, helpless Rey. He’d made her a promise ten years ago but broke it as soon as they parted.

I didn’t know.

Excuses won’t help you sleep at night.

“I should’ve never listened to you,” he muttered. “What happened to Rey is my fault.”

Anakin set his crystal glass down with a thump. “What else could you have done? She’s a Palpatine, Ben. A fucking Palpatine. There’s no rescuing anyone from that.”

Swallowing his guilt, Kylo asked, “What do you think happened?”

“I suspect the girl woke up with no memories of that harrowing night and someone decided it was easier to get rid of her. Lose her in the foster system.”

“Fuck,” Kylo muttered, remembering Rey at eight years of age, all big eyes and tousled hair and sweet pink lips.

“Be glad they didn’t just kill her.”

Kylo flinched. His grandfather was right; he knew firsthand just how ruthless the Palpatines could be. “But who gave the order? Do you think it was Maul, still trying to be the good little guard dog Sheev trained him to be?”

“And what about Sheev’s enforcer?” Anakin mused. “If Maul was Sheev’s right hand, his enforcer was his left. He kept that freak closely hidden for years, and we still don’t know who it was despite the fallout after your kidnapping.”

Kylo hesitated. “‘Phasma’s another possibility.”

“Her?” Anakin scoffed. “Maul paid her off to get rid of her after the incident. Mind you, Phasma’s done well turning her settlement into a billion dollar beauty empire.”

“She was at the arena when Rey showed up.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Anakin turned and poured himself a second scotch.

“Yeah.”

“Did she recognise the girl?”

“I don’t think so,” Kylo said. “Phas wasn’t part of the inner circle for very long, nor was she the maternal type. I heard she used her time in Palpatine’s nest to build a network for her own future.”

“What was Phasma doing there?” Anakin demanded.

Kylo grimaced. “She wants me as the face of her next ad campaign.”

Anakin stiffened. “What did you tell her?”

“I said no, of course,” Kylo muttered. “Are you ever going to forgive me for sleeping with her?”

“As youthful indiscretions go, it was probably the stupidest one you could’ve conceived.” Anakin spoke with enough acid to strip paint. “Whoever decided to exile the girl did so for their own selfish reasons. Have you considered that it’s none of our business?”

Kylo’s eyes flashed with inner lightning. “How can you say that? I owe Rey everything.”

“Do you?” Anakin countered. “You wouldn’t have needed her help had she belonged to a family with any measure of decency.”

Kylo considered telling the old man that Rey now lived with him inside his designer penthouse but stopped himself just in time. What Anakin didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, all he was doing was keeping an eye on Rey, making sure she was exactly who she said she was.

As if reading his mind, Anakin growled, “You need to stay away from the girl.”

Kylo said nothing.

“I mean it, Ben. That whole family is toxic. She’s fruit off a poisoned tree.”

Kylo recalled the rage in Rey’s eyes when Phasma cosied up to him, and again in the elevator when Bazine shamelessly flirted with him. It was true, her responses felt a little intense, strange enough to trigger memories of Palpatine bloodlust.

“She’s just a child,” he couldn’t help defending Rey.

“Not anymore,” his grandfather rightly judged. “The girl is an adult now, and who knows what kind of schemes she’s concocted in her dark little mind.”

“You’re being overly dramatic.”

“Please don’t tell me you believe the granddaughter of Sheev Palpatine showed up at your training centre out of sheer coincidence? Something else is going on here.”

“Blackmail or revenge,” Kylo said, chewing his lower lip. “Those were the two options you mentioned at the start of this conversation. Surely there’s a third possibility.”

“Like what?” Anakin asked with a bitter laugh. “After all this time, Rey’s looking for more than just a reunion with you.”

A wave of exhaustion swept over Kylo like he hadn’t felt in a long time. Usually he had strength to burn, but right now he was tired. Tired of the shackles of his past and tired of his ever-present bloodline.

What would it be like to be born Kylo Ren and not Ben Solo?

A firm hand rested on his shoulders, and Kylo looked into piercing blue eyes that were only ever gentle with a handful of people. “You need to be careful, my boy. Because if Rey remembers the incident, she’ll blame you for everything that’s happened to her.”

Kylo felt his heart twist like a rubber band. Grandpa was right. He was being foolish inviting Rey Palpatine… Niima into his home. All he wanted was to protect her, but what if she was looking to destroy him?

Just then, his smartphone began pinging with multiple notifications. Kylo swiped the screen to clear what he assumed were more annoying texts from Kaydel, except it was something else entirely. Security alerts.

Security alerts from inside his apartment. Inside his bedroom.

He tapped the relevant app to view real time footage.

There was Rey, hair shiny and lips pursed, dressed in adorable pink denim overalls paired with a cropped lavender tee. She stood in the middle of his bedroom, a place she had no right to be. As he watched, a look of fierce determination crossed her face and she stepped into his walk-in closet.

Motherfucker. He was gonna end the bitch.

Chapter Text

Walking into Kylo Ren’s bedroom was like strolling into a cathedral, and Rey was ready to pay homage to the great man even if he wasn’t there.

The room was big enough to be its own apartment, with a high, domed ceiling that housed a staggering black crystal chandelier, floor to ceiling windows that showcased yet more spectacular city views, an ornate black velvet couch facing an open black and white marble fireplace, and a mammoth bed on a raised platform covered in an ocean of black satin sheets. Even the walls were painted a gorgeous pearlescent pewter grey.

She squirmed to see it. Such a room demanded to be used as a temple dedicated to nightly ruination. Rey wondered how many girls had rolled around on Kylo’s bed, pinned under his heavily muscled body or straddling lean hips as they rode him to nirvana.

The pink muscles at the junction of her thighs clenched painfully, dampening lace panties, lust almost overcoming jealousy. Almost.

Focus, Rey. You’re not here to gawk at a freaking sexy bed while driving yourself crazy over Kylo’s inevitable harem of lovers. You’re here to find out his secrets in the hopes they reveal your own.

She was living in a penthouse apartment in the sky with the King of the Underworld, and it didn’t seem real. As soon as she’d moved in, her nerves had taken over and she’d used every excuse in the book to avoid being around Kylo.

Who did that? Who dreamed and planned and hoped for this exact situation, only to run and hide when faced with its reality?

Me, that’s who.

Rey awoke at dawn her first morning and began meal prepping for a man of Kylo’s height, weight, and physically demanding job description. She intended on talking to the Black Dragons team dietitian for specific recommendations next, and if she wasn’t such a weirdo, she would’ve already interviewed Kylo about his personal food preferences instead of guessing what he might like.

Kylo hadn’t complained yet. So far, so good.

It’s only been forty-eight hours. Still plenty of time for you to mess up.

Enough. Just get on with it, Rey.

She’d decided to skip classes when a sense of impending doom had overcome her this sunshiny day. She waited outside the apartment, hiding behind manicured azalea bushes like a creeper, and snuck back into the penthouse as soon as she saw Kylo’s bulky G-wagon leave for practice. She needed to take advantage of her living situation before it was snatched away.

If Rey had learnt anything as a foster kid hobbled by a lack of memory, it was that nothing lasted forever. The word ‘permanent’ only applied to thick black marker pens. People stuck around long enough for her to get her heart broken and then they disappeared. It was a dismal world view, but it had kept her going these last few years.

She should’ve been celebrating that she was living with Kylo Ren, but all the move had done was give her a tension headache. She was so close to everything she wanted. So close, and yet still too damn far. Because apart from the fact he kept appearing in her dreams, she still had no idea how Kylo’s angular face and jagged scar were connected to her past.

Drawing a deep breath, she began searching his room, starting with his walk-in closet. It was a little thrilling and a lot sexy to smell spiced musk and woodsy cologne as she rifled through an extensive collection of Black Dragons jerseys, hoodies, track pants, t-shirts, baseball caps, and multiple pairs of collector’s edition sneakers. Kylo’s day-to-day clothing was mostly plain and black, simply tailored but expensively made as befitting a sports millionaire.

Of course, he also had all that Skywalker money in his back pocket. The truth was it didn’t matter if Kylo fed every last dollar he earned down a garbage disposal unit, he was set for life.

Kylo was the grandson of billionaire industrialist Anakin Skywalker and heir to the Skywalker fortune. Every time Anakin had been interviewed by the press, he managed to make mention of his beloved grandchild Kylo. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that Anakin intended for Kylo to take over at the helm of his company. Kylo himself had been spotted working part-time in different areas at Skywalker Enterprises in his off season, learning the ropes for his future.

But Kylo Ren was also the son of Senator Leia Organa, a notable politician with a leading voice in foreign policy and national security matters, while his father Han Solo owned a multinational corporation that designed and manufactured airplanes, rockets and satellites worldwide.

No, Kylo would never be found begging for bread. He was surrounded by wealth, success… and family.

The final thought pierced Rey like the point of a sword. Family. All she wanted was family. One person to call her own. Was that too much to ask?

Rey found nothing untoward in Kylo’s giant wardrobe apart from a cardboard box full of magnum sized condoms, proof that her crush did indeed have a big dick. As if she needed anything else to improve upon already hectic dreams.

Right. Where to next?

Despite its luxurious proportions, Kylo’s bedroom was surprisingly streamlined. A floating shelf held a dozen books, an eclectic mix of high fantasy, thriller, true crime and philosophy. The bedside tables were free of clutter, their drawers empty. Nothing but expensive paint adorned the walls.

She was ready to give up when she spotted a sleek silver laptop on a table beside the velvet couch.

Bingo.

Rey glared at a password protected front screen while considering her options. She figured she had at least nine attempts before the computer shut her out. As a connoisseur of everything Kylo Ren, surely she’d be able to make some sort of educated guess. Even in today’s age of online scams and computer hackers, it was the rare soul who bothered coming up with a complicated key for their home computer.

Nibbling her lower lip, she went super obvious and typed Black Dragons.

Password incorrect.

Hmph. Not that obvious, then.

She frowned to herself as she used up password attempts two, three and four on Kylo’s date of birth, the date he was first drafted, and the date his team won their first Stanley Cup.

Password incorrect. The front screen glowed obnoxiously back at her.

She took a beat, thinking things through. What was most important to Kylo?

Family. He loved his family. It was one of the reasons why she’d started crushing so hard on him- that and his incredible cheekbones. And plush mouth. And muscled shoulders. And sculpted…

Focus, Rey.

She drew a deep breath. Of everyone in his life, Kylo might be the closest to Anakin Skywalker and the proudest of his mother Leia Organa, but he always seemed the happiest and most relaxed when he was with his dad, Han Solo. His father had taught him to fly planes, and they still went flying together.

That was it. Rey typed: Millenium Falcon and pressed enter. It was the name of Han’s flagship airplane when he started his company, the same aircraft where toddler Kylo spent a huge chunk of his childhood by his father’s side.

The laptop hummed before revealing Kylo’s electronic desktop, making Rey squeal. He’d chosen the Black Dragons’ logo as his backdrop, and there were at least thirty shortcuts littered across the ebony and scarlet landscape. Heart pounding, Rey began scanning the thumbnails, checking to see if anything stood out. Like a folder conveniently labelled ‘secrets’.

She’d only just decided to open his email account when a towering figure in black stormed the bedroom. Rey’s heart stopped beating entirely.

“Kylo!” she gasped, nearly dropping the laptop in her haste to stand up.

“Me,” he agreed grimly.

Omigawd, omigawd, omigawd… Black spots appeared in the horizon and Rey suspected she was about to pass out.

Breathe. She needed to breathe. “What- what are you doing here?”

“You dare ask me that?” he demanded. “What. The fuck. Are you doing inside my bedroom? On my laptop. That you seem to have hacked.”

Oh, this was so much worse than losing a job. Kylo could have her charged for invasion of privacy. She’d be prosecuted for criminal behaviour. It would mean the end of her college scholarship and professional career.

Was it worth it?

The words of every government paid psychiatrist she’d seen over the last ten years came back to her in a crushing tidal wave. The belonging you seek is not behind you, it’s ahead. Let the past die, kill it if you have to- that’s the only way to become what you’re meant to be.

They were right all along. What was the point of discovering the truth of her past if it ruined any kind of future she might have?

“Pup-please, K-Kylo.” She shivered where she stood, lashes trembling and lips quivering.

His expression was all hard planes and pulsing anger, but a strange look crossed his face. Was that a softening of his temper? No, not quite. Kylo looked… intrigued.

“Who are you really?” Even his tone had changed, turning into a silken croon, pitched low like the depths of hell.

She licked her lips, and his amber gaze tracked her tongue as it moistened pink flesh. “Everything I’ve told you about myself is true.”

“Even your penchant for unicorns?”

Her jaw dropped open at this unexpected aside, and she scrambled for an answer. “The fact is I’m an unreliable narrator in my own life. I was told by the authorities that my name is Rey Niima. I’m an orphan with severe retrograde amnesia, and I have no memories of my childhood, apart from a dream where I’m wearing a cotton nightie and fluffy unicorn slippers.”

“So why the fuck are you in my bedroom?”

“This dream of mine is a recurring nightmare,” Rey said, swallowing hard. Maybe if she admitted to everything, it would earn his mercy. “And every night the dream ends with a glimpse of your cut and bloodied face.”

Kylo frowned. “So you do remember me.”

Rey felt her knees turn to water. “What did you say?”

His expression remained coolly calculating. “At least I’m a guest star in your dreams. It hurt to think you’d forgotten me completely.”

“You- you recognise me?” Rey gasped. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

To her frustration, he took his time replying. “Some memories are better left buried.”

“What does that mean?” She was losing her mind. Kylo Ren had just confirmed that her nightmare was in fact reality. That he knew her. And he’d expected her to know him too, not just because he was a sports star but because they’d met before. In a past she no longer remembered.

“Perhaps your loss of memory is your mind trying to protect itself from further trauma.”

What the hell? Just like that, Rey’s desire to discover her history was back with a frothing vengeance. “What trauma?”

Kylo smirked. “You’re adorable when you’re angry, sweetheart. Like a bedraggled kitten caught in the rain.”

“I want the truth!” she exploded. She was standing so close to him she could smell the cedar and salt of his expensive cologne- or was that just his natural scent?

Kylo gave a rumbling laugh even though his lips didn’t so much as curve into a smile. “Sheathe your claws, kitty. You’ve no right making demands in my home, especially when I have camera footage of you ransacking my bedroom.”

Rey sobered up at once. He was right, he still had the high ground. “Fine,” she muttered, lifting her chin. “I’m sorry I broke your trust. I should have spoken to you instead of behaving like a trash bandit. What can I do to fix it?”

He shook his head in amusement. “What a pretty speech, sweetheart. You almost convinced this cynical bastard that you meant it.”

“I do mean it,” she flushed. “I- I’ll do anything for your forgiveness, Kylo. A clean slate, so we can begin again.”

Which was when he took the final step, closing the gap between them. Rey struggled to breathe as Kylo’s big, callused hands wrapped around her little waist, pressing her significantly smaller form against the rock hard muscles of his athlete’s body.

“You and I, sweetheart, we’re carved in stone. There is no clean slate, no beginning again, not when our true beginning laid the foundation for who I am.”

Rey’s head was spinning, mouth dry and cheeks on fire. “I don’t understand,” she whimpered.

He backed away from her and she damn near ran after him, barely holding on to the threads of her unravelling pride. Fortunately, he didn’t go very far.

It turned out the polished step leading up to the platform on which his gigantic bed lay nestled was also a storage compartment. He slid it open and pulled out what appeared to be a length of black silk. A tie, perhaps, or a cord of some description.

She had a bad feeling about this.

“What’s that?” Rey asked when Kylo said nothing.

He lifted the narrow length of cloth. “You claim you’d do anything for my forgiveness, but is that really true?”

She nodded shakily.

“Then get on your knees.”

“Kylo…”

“It’s very simple, Rey. This is a blindfold, and I want you to put it on.”

Chapter Text

There was something in the depths of Kylo’s eyes that both scared and excited Rey. He stood looking like a modern day demigod, all hot, hard muscles and thick, tousled black hair in a black t-shirt and tailored black slacks, those slacks unable to hide the evidence of his bulge.

He was turned on, but Rey struggled to accept it was by her. He must be aroused by the idea of what was about to happen next.

He waved the length of black silk at her, and she flinched. A freaking blindfold? Really? She should have known he was into the kinky stuff.

Her biggest problem was that she had no idea whether she liked the idea of it or not.

Kylo ran the cloth through his fist and her intimate muscles tightened painfully, gushing slick like a tap. Okay, so apparently she liked it. She was soaking wet at the mere thought of being blindfolded by this big, strong man. Of falling to her knees in front of him.

Except maybe it wasn’t the blindfold after all- maybe it was Kylo himself.

Why don’t you find out?

Rey considered letting Kylo into the secret that she was a virgin, using her innocence as a way to escape her current predicament, but she had a feeling it would stir him up even more.

The truth was she believed herself broken beyond repair. Rey didn’t understand the feelings of physical pleasure her classmates talked about, the thrill of sweaty bodies and sweet orgasms. She’d come close to having sex a few times, but the lead up to the act had always been so awkward that she’d pulled the plug before the big moment.

She wasn’t sure if she was asexual or sexually avoidant, whether her non-existent needs were a preference or a problem, but then she’d discovered Kylo Ren. Over the years, she became the owner of a shameful collection of videos and images that featured the hot hockey player in various states of undress. Her favourites were always the candids, where some photographer had caught him stripping off in the team locker room after a game.

Kylo was the only reason she believed there was any hope for her libido, since it usually resembled the frozen surface of a hockey rink. While it was true her bedtime was dominated by the same nightmare over and over again, what she’d failed to mention was that she also enjoyed many an erotically charged dream featuring the King of the Underworld.

She wasn’t asexual- merely Kylosexual. That was a word, wasn’t it?

And now the man of her literal dreams was waving a blindfold at her like a matador waving a red flag at a bull. The sheer arrogance that radiated off him told her this particular dominant male had been in the depravity game for a long time, and she had no hope of manipulating the situation.

“You have a choice, princess,” he growled. “Either make good on what you said or leave.”

Did Kylo mean it? Would he kick her to the kerb moments after revealing that he knew her? Rey couldn’t risk losing contact with the only link to her past.

Taking a deep breath, she sank to her knees on thick charcoal grey carpet. He held out his hand and she grabbed the blindfold from his fingers, clutching it as if it was a lifeline. He arched an expectant brow and she gritted her teeth, heart fluttering like a panicked butterfly trapped in the hands of a malicious child.

At long last, she wrapped the cloth around her head, covering her eyes, turning her world black.

In the silence of the room, her breath quickened. Kylo said nothing, did nothing, but still his presence was palpable.

Considering the shroud that hung over her past, the last thing Rey expected was a feeling of clarity that fell over her. It was strange how the other senses kicked into gear with her sight taken away. Did people understand how important their eyes were when processing the world around them? Now that her vision was gone, Rey could hear her pulse in her ears, experience each breath leaving and entering her lungs, feel the prickle of carpet against her knees.

She wore a pink denim overall-style minidress discovered in the bargain bin of a department store, the t-shirt she paired with it pastel purple, and underneath that… she hadn’t worn a bra. Her breasts were small and round and undeniably perky, not needing the additional support. Because of that, the buds of her nipples now strained against the cheap cotton of her tee. She had no doubt they were visible to Kylo.

Did he like what he saw, or was his preference for more voluptuous females? Like that awful cougar Bazine they’d bumped into in the elevator. Or Kaydel. Or Phasma.

Ugh, why was this man surrounded by so many big-breasted women who wanted to bed him?

A hand touched the top of her head, and she stiffened at once. She breathed deeply, suppressing the sudden urge to run. His palm was broad, calloused from all the work he did with a hockey stick. The type of hand capable of flipping her over and gripping her hips as he fucked her through the floor.

Holy guacamole- what was that debauched image? She’d never been so quickly aroused by so little.

Kylo undid the straps of her pink overalls, letting them fall away, his touch slow and sensual. His actions had a sweet moan crawling up her throat, begging for release, but she stifled the sound.

And then he was touching her cotton t-shirt, pulling it up over her head. She lifted her hands to allow him to do exactly that. Her breasts were exposed with a gentle bounce. They felt curiously heavy and aching, her nipples buzzing in the climate-controlled air.

She’d never been so aware of her little tits, and he hadn’t even touched them.

It was the anticipation, she realised. The sick, thrilling anticipation of a woman handing her power to her lover. And for some crazy reason, Rey felt safe in Kylo’s hands.

Long fingers tipped her jaw so that she was looking up at him even though she could see nothing. A warm thumb brushed over rosebud lips, and she almost parted them to suckle. His fingers stroked the column of her neck, pausing to trace her collarbone. She stopped breathing for a second and squeezed her thighs together.

Damn. He was barely touching her and she was ready to be spreadeagled.

Then Kylo cupped her breasts in both hands and her world stopped spinning. Rey bit her lip, smothering the foreign sound that was trying to escape. The callused pads of his thumbs ran over stiff tips, and she jerked. A bolt of lightning crackled through her body, connecting her nipples to her rapidly swelling clit.

Oh. Oh, my.

He’d touched her nipples, that’s all. Was it supposed to feel that good? Just a touch, no twirling or squeezing… as yet. Her breathing deepened, her skin warm.

Without warning, Kylo twisted her tight pink buds. This time Rey couldn’t hold back, a wanton moan filling the expensive air of his bedroom. Her back arched, pushing her breasts deeper into the care of expert hands.

He began playing her body like a maestro, pinching one nipple and teasing the other with a feathery touch. Both soft and firm, delicate and painful. Whatever Rey had expected after putting on the blindfold it wasn’t for this hot, hunky male to treat her to nipple play so unbearably erotic she was about to lose control.

Logic had gone out the window and her body was a slave to Kylo’s ministrations.

Her heart raced and her belly swooped and slick coated her thighs, spilling over the bounds of lace panties. He twisted both nipples again, making her whimper and squirm. And then he returned to gentle caressing, only to pinch her buds once more. Her pussy pulsed like a soon-to-erupt volcano and she reached between her legs.

The moment she did, Kylo stopped his teasing.

No, no, no…

“Naughty Rey,” he husked, low and lethal.

“Please, Kylo,” she moaned, her voice so breathy it didn’t sound like her anymore. “I- I’ll be your good girl.”

She dropped her hands to her sides, but he didn’t make a move. The silence stretched out like a rubber band.

Just as she was beginning to think she’d ruined the moment, he started to knead her breasts like a baker with fresh dough. He returned to torturing her nipples, every brush of skin and every cruel pinch making her twist and whimper. It was too raw- too real. All too much.

He pulled her nipples an inch from her chest, and she let out a shriek so utterly unique that she shocked herself. A sudden and violent wave stole what little air remained in her lungs. Rey grabbed blindly onto Kylo’s arms, his fingers still stretching her buds, her orgasm a shuddering, contracting thing, her pussy leaking juices to drip down her thighs.

It didn’t seem possible, but she’d just come from Kylo touching her breasts. What would have happened if he’d played with her pussy? Would he have fractured her mind with sheer bliss?

As the pulses slowly subsided, she didn’t release her hold on him. Her nails dug into his forearms; they were strong and veiny to touch, as expected from a man with his skillset. She sighed, her heartrate slowly returning to normal. Her nipples still ached and throbbed, probably because he hadn’t released them, running his thumbs over the tips as if making sure they were real.

“You’re a hot little thing, aren’t you, princess?”

“I…” She licked her lips, unsure whether she should confess her truth. “I’m hot for you, Kylo.”

“Fuck, baby, this might be a game to you, but that sure does sound good.”

She reached up with trembling hands to remove her blindfold, wanting to look him in the eyes when she spoke. A soft gasp left her lips.

Kylo stood before her wearing nothing but black trousers, the waist hanging so low that the v line below his washboard abs was on display. Rey wanted to trace the firm indentation with her tongue, and she had to lean backwards to stop herself.

“This isn’t a game to me,” she said, forcing her eyes upwards before he realised she was drooling all over his half naked form. “I’m making decisions for my future.”

His eyebrows lifted until they disappeared behind a swoop of black hair. “Get up.”

She stood slowly, but he didn’t reach for the black shirt that lay crumpled on the ground to cover up his chest, so she didn’t pick up her t-shirt either. She wrapped her arms around her bare midriff, oddly okay with the fact that her breasts were still on display, her nipples bright red from his teasing. Despite being dangerously intimidating both on and off the ice, Rey found Kylo’s presence a comfort.

I trust him.

What? No, that couldn’t be right. Rey Niima didn’t trust anyone; not the thirteen different foster parents she’d endured over the years, or the many desperate foster siblings with whom she was forced to live, or the overworked and underpaid caseworkers who only wanted her to stay quiet and disappear into the system because they didn’t have the time to look after her individual needs.

Rey certainly didn’t trust the four psychiatrists who’d seen her in her early years, all of whom had parroted the same message. Her past didn’t matter. It wasn’t important whether she recovered her memories or not. Rey needed to move on and build a new life, and that would only happen if she let go of needless emotional baggage.

Except she cared about her past. She needed to know where she’d come from. She understood her recurring nightmare was giving voice to one thing- that her life would not be whole until she remembered who she was.

“Will you tell me what you know about my history?”

Kylo stayed silent, hands in his pockets, his boner still on shameless display behind a thin covering of tailored black wool.

Magnum sized indeed.

Stop it, Rey. Now is not the time.

Oh, really? Seconds after my first orgasmic release at the hands of another human being is not the time?

Fine, when you put it like that…

“Let me get this straight,” Kylo grunted, amber eyes shamelessly roaming her swollen breasts. He clearly had no problem being a perv. “You expect me to believe that you, Rey Niima, orphan with amnesia, came looking for me because my face is the one thing you remember from your past. How gullible do you think I am?”

Rey took a step towards Kylo, so close she had to tilt her head back to hold his gaze. She slowly lifted her hand, but he didn’t flinch. Taking his stillness as consent, she lightly traced the pink scar that ran across Kylo’s forehead and down his right cheek where it ended just at his collarbone. Only a deep wound could have left such a mark.

“There was so much blood in my dream,” she whispered.

He stared at her, myriad emotions hidden behind deep eyes.

“Your family has money. If your scar was caused by a skating accident, why not pay a plastic surgeon to fix it?”

“Rebirth.” The word fell reluctantly from Kylo’s lips.

She blinked. “What did you say?”

He shook his head and scowled. “It doesn’t matter, because I’m not about to expose a past you can’t handle.”

“Who says I can’t handle it?” Rey demanded, sudden anger making her vibrate. “Who are you to hide the truth from me?” She turned and snatched up her t-shirt, pulling it on before fastening the straps of her overalls. “Do you know what it’s like not having any knowledge of your family? I can’t remember my mom or dad, much less aunts, uncles and cousins. I have no photos, videos or mementos. I don’t even know the name of my granddad who was apparently my guardian at the time of whatever traumatic incident wiped my mind clean.”

Kylo crossed his arms over his formidable chest. “Maybe it’s better you don’t know. Family can be both a blessing and a curse.”

“Why would you say that?” She was shocked.

He shrugged. “It’s true. Sometimes the people closest to you are the ones who hurt you the most.”

Why did it feel like his comment was more than just a hypothetical? “What are you trying to tell me?”

“Nothing,” he scowled.

Throwing caution to the wind, Rey grabbed his big hand and squeezed. “Please help me, Kylo. You’re my only hope.”

Chapter Text

Kylo had never been this clearheaded on the ice, not in all the years he’d been playing at a professional level, and especially while on the road.

Tonight, the Black Dragons were in Alderaan. As he collided with two opponents and a battle for the puck ensued, ending in him chipping it to Dameron, he was clear on his purpose. Energized and focused.

He wasn’t thinking about his parents’ expectations or his grandfather’s vision of the future. He wasn’t thinking about how his every movement would be perceived by the fans occupying the seats; if he was giving his supporters or detractors the kind of game they expected from the King of the Underworld. Whether Coach Yoda and his teammates were satisfied with his performance.

Yeah, he was focused, because for the first time in his professional career he was aware of something bigger than this moment, putting the game into perspective. In its rightful place. As he worked his way across the rink, there was an underlying sense of I can’t fucking wait to do this shit so I can go home again. Because Rey had turned his apartment into something it had never been before- a place he wanted to be.

That girl. He still didn’t know what to do with her, whether to hug her or fuck her… or maybe both. He couldn’t believe it when she’d orgasmed from nipple play alone. He’d heard of such things but had never seen it with his own eyes. And then she had the audacity to tell him he was the only one who turned her on. Surely that wasn’t true. Someone as dialled into her body as Rey must have had plenty of boyfriends.

Not that he was one to talk. Kylo was a star athlete in his prime, and he’d screwed more women than he could count. But none of them- absolutely none- had had the effect on his cock Rey was having. His mind flashed back to her kneeling on his bedroom floor. Everything about her state of post-orgasmic bliss was beautiful, from the flushing of her cheeks to the parting of her lips, and the fine perspiration covering tanned skin to the erratic rise and fall of her chest, causing pert breasts to push out further. He was so aroused his manhood had swelled and threatened to tear through the confines of his trousers as if it was wrapping paper.

Rey was more than what met the eye, and he only wished he’d taken a picture of her in the moment, dazed expression and dewy skin with cherry nipples. He supposed he could always edit stills taken from the security cameras hidden around the room.

Now that Rey was back in his life and he’d opened his stupid mouth to confirm their past connection, he needed to decide what to share with her. Telling her everything from a decade ago was out of the question. She still wanted to be around him, and that would no longer be the case if she discovered every excruciating detail.

If Rey knew the truth, it wouldn’t matter what her family had done to her in the aftermath. She’d soon realise it was Kylo who was the true villain at the heart of her story, and he couldn’t let that happen.

After her gut-wrenching plea for help, he’d delayed their conversation by claiming he first wanted to speak to a therapist because he was concerned about the impact his words might have on her condition. Of course, he hadn’t actually called anyone.

Today’s away game couldn’t have come at a better time. It gave him space to think, even if separation from Rey meant all he longed for was to be back in her fluffy pink presence.

What the hell was with all the pink anyway?

The opposing offense sliced down the ice and Kylo got his head in the game, registering the spreading formation of a center and two wings bearing down on him. He kept his eye on the puck as it was passed, positioning himself between the net and the left winger who was already taking the shot.

No time to stop it, Kylo blocked the progress with his body, the puck rebounding off his pads onto the ice. His back was only a foot from the goal now and everyone swarmed at once, the Coruscant Black Dragons trying to get the puck out of the danger zone, the Alderaan Canons trying to press their advantage, having already slipped past the defence.

Kylo found the puck among the sea of skates and sticks, looking for a sliver of daylight through which to fire it- and there it was. He blasted it out, away from the net. The crowds’ collective roar of disappointment only fed his aggression, and he skated after the puck, his job far from over.

He had a rare moment of open ice away from everyone, the puck sliding toward the boards, bouncing off. He reared back with his stick, Hux approaching in his periphery. He had his target.

Kylo’s stick never connected with the puck.

The moment the opposing team’s left wing slammed into him from behind and bashed him up against the boards, a blinding pain streaked through his lower back. Not a twinge, nor a throb, or a twist. This felt like a tear or a dislocation. A hellish amount of misery that stole the breath out of his lungs and numbed his legs so completely he dropped to the ice like a bag of wet cement.

Kylo landed in a kneel, and though he automatically struggled to get back up and keep going- because that’s what he’d been taught to do- he couldn’t. He couldn’t fucking get up.

A very specific sound filled his ears, a sound that didn’t belong. The eerie whistle of a whip in motion just before the fiery crack of leather hitting its mark. Heavy, breathless silence, dank brick walls absorbing his screams. The welcoming cold of a cement floor on his face.

And then there was warmth, golden and innocent, because Rey’s little hands were on his face, her expression wide-eyed and anxious. He’d pictured the basement a thousand times in the last ten years, the darkness and pain a pattern he’d learnt to control, but he’d never visualised anyone there with him. Never wanted to. After all, no one deserved to be in that place. Especially not Rey.

It's not about deserve- it’s about truth.

And the truth was Kylo could no longer ignore the fact that Rey was a part of him. A part of his story. The missing piece that could make him whole again. She was finally back in his life through no effort of his own, and he needed to do the right thing. Even if the right thing was the wrong thing.

Pain threatened to fracture his consciousness, but his mind still clung to the image of her.

Rey. Rey was watching this whole nightmare unfold on television back in Coruscant.

She was seeing his moment of weakness live, and that fucking burned.

Let the whole world witness the destruction of his body, except for her. She had enough nightmare fuel to last a lifetime.

Get the hell up.

“Kylo,” Hux shouted to his right, but he couldn’t even turn his head. The pain was so debilitating it tensed every muscle in his body, and he clenched his teeth together until he could taste blood. “Stay down, man. Don’t make it worse. The trainer is on the way.”

“No,” he ground out, trying and failing once again to get back on his skates. How could he save Rey if he couldn’t even get back up?

You didn’t save her the first time, jerkwad.

“Come on, Ky,” Finn said, skating up on his other side, his brilliant smile nowhere to be seen. “Help is on its way.”

“I need… to stand…” Kylo panted. “Rey… She can’t see me this way.”

“The college girl who visited the other day?” Poe’s voice demanded from behind him. “What the fuck? Since when do you have a girlfriend?”

Girlfriend. Even spoken with such incredulity, the word felt right.

“Who are you and what have you done with Kylo Ren?” Hux muttered, crouching down next to him. He’d never seen the other man look so concerned.

A new sound struck Kylo’s ears, the silence of a twenty thousand capacity crowd in an arena, every eye on him.

Horrifyingly quiet. They all knew. They knew it was over for him.

The spreading pain beneath his collar rose slowly and choked him, leaving no doubt. This was it- the widow maker. The career ender. His spine was in the grip of an unseen sadist, being twisted until black bled into the edges of his vision, cold sweat coating every inch of his body.

He had no choice but to lie down on the ice. Humiliation stabbed into him. Denial. Anger. Resentment.

Rey’s beautiful face appeared in his mind, her worry and concern reminding him of another night so many years ago. His own helplessness pissed him off and he slammed his fist into the ice while the trainer asked him questions he couldn’t process much less acknowledge.

Who was he now? A broken heap of a man who could no longer protect Rey. And she needed protecting more than she realised. What the fuck was he gonna do?

As he lay on the ice with a million cameras flashing around him, Kylo realised his main concern was not for his hockey career but his future with Rey. And that… that was truly terrifying.

“You fucking asshole.” Armitage Hux’s words of relief filled the room, making a nurse giggle.

Kylo couldn’t hold back a grin either. A muscle strain. That was all it was. Un-fucking-believable.

He’d strained a muscle in his lower back. It was close to his spine and had put pressure on his disc and triggered pain receptors he’d never felt before, but still. A muscle strain!

As he lay on a hospital bed in an Alderaan medical suite, Kylo was certain the doctor would walk in after the series of X-rays and tests to tell him he’d fractured a vertebra or torn a ligament. Instead, the diagnosis was not that serious. Strain, he could deal with. Strain, wasn’t a career ender.

Until the moment the doctor said those two magical words to him- muscle strain- Kylo had no idea the ton of bricks he’d been carrying around on his shoulders. Hells bells. His back still ached like nobody’s business, but knowing he wouldn’t need some bullshit surgery or cocktail of drugs to manage the pain made him feel like a new man.

A man who needed to get his priorities straight, starting with the pretty young thing back home in Coruscant.

Confidence was already beginning to flow into his veins, although his confidence had been executing triumphant backflips ever since he made Rey come from tugging on her nips alone.

“Thanks for the good news, doc,” Kylo said, reaching out to shake the man’s hand.

“Anything for my favourite Black Dragon.” Why was the guy frowning after delivering the world’s most welcome diagnosis? “Listen, Kylo, I need to let you know this still isn’t great news. Considering the level of pain you’re in, it’s clear to me you need to rest the injury.”

“One week off the ice,” Coach Yoda declared, short and succinct. “Lose you for the rest of the season, I won’t.”

Normally Kylo would have screamed his head off at being benched, but right now, with everything that was going on in his life, it felt like a reprieve. “Yeah, okay, coach.”

Yoda frowned at him as if he knew this wasn’t the usual Ren response.

“Seriously, it’s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers with you right now,” Hux muttered.

“I’m going to speak to the team trainers about physical therapy to keep the muscle from stiffening and to strengthen the ligaments surrounding it,” the doctor continued. “In the meantime, can I prescribe something for the pain?”

“Nope, all good here.” Kylo refused to take painkillers, wary about mind altering medication. Funny that.

“Well, I suggest we keep you overnight…”

“Kylo stays. The rest of you have ten minutes before we leave for the airport,” Yoda snapped at Hux, Poe and Finn who were all gathered around Kylo’s bed. “I refuse to reschedule four flights instead of just one.”

“You’re all heart, coach,” Poe snickered, but Yoda had already exited the room, jabbering to the doctor in his inimitable manner.

“Fuck, that was close,” Kylo sighed, sinking back into his bed. To his surprise, none of his teammates said anything. He opened his eyes again and looked around the room. “What’s up, guys? I know I’m being rested for a week, but that’s better than the alternative.”

“So, Rey, huh? Wanna tell us why a girl you met two days ago has you risking your body on the ice?” Hux’s question landed in the centre of the room like a ten-ton boulder, the crash followed by a charged silence.

What the hell had he told his teammates while delirious with pain?

Kylo glowered at the room at large. “Excuse me?”

“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Poe said, throwing up his hands. “I’d rather be somewhere else toasting our victory. By the way, did I mention I body checked the asshole who crashed into you for the remainder fifteen minutes of the game? Tarkin should be waking up black and blue tomorrow.”

“Body checked? You charged him repeatedly,” Finn said, looking disgruntled. “This idiot earned himself four penalties tonight.”

“I appreciate the solidarity,” Kylo grunted.

“A-hem,” Hux cleared his throat. “Back to our discussion…”

“Why do I have to say anything?” Kylo asked, feeling protective of Rey. “It’s not like you mentioned you were screwing Rose.”

“I was doing more than just screwing her,” Hux snarled as Finn gasped theatrically and Poe hooted with excitement. “Rose wasn’t some puck bunny for you guys to ogle.”

“Wait, you’re using the past tense. Does that mean Rose is single again?” Finn enquired.

“I swear to God,” Hux muttered, picking up a full box of tissues by Kylo’s bedside and throwing it at the other man. Finn blocked the projectile at the last second with a defensive forearm and a cackle.

“You all suck as friends,” Kylo informed them.

“Hey, just because I’m here for those chocolate pudding cups you get with your hospital meals, it doesn’t mean I don’t care,” Poe informed him. “Besides, not a single person in this room has a leg to stand on. None of us talk about our relationships.”

“You mean the real reason why Finn’s still alive after his comment about Rose?” Hux asked.

“Yeah, that,” Finn agreed.

Hux looked surprised at the acknowledgement, but it was Kylo who spoke. “You show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.”

“Only if Hux gives it up as well,” Poe replied.

“Fine,” Hux said through gritted teeth.

Poe looked at Finn, who nodded back at him. “Not that it should come as a surprise to you two, but Finn and I act like the world’s biggest fuckboys because we’re actually a couple and we don’t want anyone finding out.”

Kylo smirked. “You just admitted your relationship status out loud. Next, you’ll be hard launching on Insta.”

“This stays between us,” Finn snapped with uncharacteristic heat. “You guys don’t get to tell anyone. Not Rose or Rey, and especially not Kaydel.” He levelled a glare at Kylo. “I don’t know why you insist on having a journalist hanging around considering how much you hate unsolicited media exposure.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Kylo assured Finn, ignoring his comment on Kaydel. The blonde reporter was her own unique dilemma.

“We want to be out,” Poe said glumly, “but the homophobia in hockey culture means we might lose sponsors, and we have our families to think about.”

Kylo nodded slowly. “I get it.” Finn supported his single mother and three younger sisters with his salary, and Poe had already paid off his parents’ mortgage and was hoping to set up his dad for an early retirement.

“Someone else’s turn,” Poe said abruptly.

“I think I’m in love with Rose,” Hux blurted out, “but I broke up with her instead.”

“Whoa,” Finn muttered, eyes wide.

“Hux, what…?”

“My father is making me retire at the end of the season, but it’s got nothing to do with the family business.” He looked down at his feet. “He wants me home because mom’s sick and dad doesn’t know how to deal with it.”

Kylo blinked. This was more information than before. “I’m sorry to hear about your mother, but what does Rose have to do with it?”

“Rose fell in love with a hockey player,” Hux replied. “Not some jerk who’s gonna be a pencil pusher on his dad’s payroll. All I did was end it before she dumped me.”

Kylo exchanged glances with Poe and Finn. “But shouldn’t you give Rose a chance to decide that for herself?”

“I’m done talking,” Hux snarled.

“O-kay… my turn, I guess,” Kylo muttered. “Rey isn’t new to me. We met years ago.”

Hux frowned. “Then why was she acting like a first time fangirl in the tunnel?”

“She has amnesia.”

“Seriously?” Poe blinked. “That’s like 50 First Dates levels of drama.”

“I wish,” Kylo grunted. “The situation’s more a horror movie than a romcom.”

His friends looked like they were about to ask more questions when Coach Yoda stuck his head through the door. “Times up, boys.”

“Aw, come on, coach!”

“Already?”

“D’you think I could ask a nurse for a pudding cup?”

“Let’s go,” Yoda growled at the trio. “There’s a visitor here for Kylo.”

Kylo stared. “A visitor?”

And just like an angel descending from heaven, Rey walked into the hospital room, setting his heart on fire.

Chapter Text

As soon as Rey watched Kylo’s injury happen on the gigantic flat screen television in his penthouse, she was up and moving.

She packed a bag of essentials in a blur, struggling to focus on next steps. She could hardly summon the brain power to text Rose and let her know she might be gone for a few days. Booking a flight to Alderaan when the tears wouldn’t stop forming in her eyes wasn’t easy, but she did it, her hands shaking as she ordered an Uber and organised the flight on the way to the airport, the phone slipping out of her hands several times. Thank goodness Kylo had paid her in advance, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to afford it.

Rey didn’t stop to consider that flying to be by Kylo’s side would look insane. She’d been back in his life for a mere handful of days, after all. He was still a stranger to her, a memory of a dream instead of flesh and blood. And yet… she just went.

Dread almost overwhelming her, Rey’s heart demanded nearness to Kylo and she obeyed blindly.

I can’t lose him again.

Once she reached the airport, she got through security as quickly as possible and jogged to the gate since her flight was already boarding. And there, on every television screen she passed, was the moment Kylo went down. People grouped together watching and muttering to one another. This was Coruscant, after all. The city belonged to the King of the Underworld. But seeing the obvious devotion a group of strangers had for the man she suspected she already loved did nothing to comfort her. No, only the opposite.

Did these strangers know something she didn’t? How badly was Kylo injured? Was he done for the season? If so, he’d be devastated.

He loved hockey more than anything in the world. The sport was interwoven with his identity. And he was spectacular at it. To be laid low in such a public and brutal and painful way was awful. He didn’t deserve it.

The duration of the flight was only ninety minutes but it might as well have been eight hours. Rey stared straight ahead the whole time, running through in her mind the things she might have to do and say to get to Kylo’s beside. She’d already texted Rose to find out from Hux where Kylo had been taken, and she hoped to have that information as soon as she landed.

She’d be ready. To stand by Kylo. To support him no matter what the doctors said. It might be nothing- she prayed it was nothing- but if it was major surgery and rehab, she’d help him get through it and come out stronger on the other side. Just like she’d helped him in the basement.

Wait- what?

“You need to get up! Please get up. The monster is coming.”

Terror gripped her as the man lying on the floor pulled on the chain wrapped around his wrist, dark hair falling over his bloody face. “I’m not going anywhere, princess.”

Rey stared at him. She was a princess- a fierce unicorn princess, not the fluffy fairy kind. “Are you stuck?”

He laughed even though she hadn’t said anything funny. “I’m all tied up, baby.”

“I’m not a baby,” she pouted.

He gave her a smile that made her feel gooey on the inside despite his cut face. “I suppose not.”

“I’ll show you I’m not a baby,” she said. “I can help. I know where Maul keeps the key for BeeBee’s chains.”

“Who the hell is BeeBee?” he asked.

“Our dog.”

The man threw back his head and laughed that strange laugh again. “Great, I’ve been chained up like the family pet.”

“Or I can ask Snoke for the bolt cutters he used when he cleared old fencing from the backyard.”

“And who might Snoke be?”

“Our gardener.”

“Awesome,” the man said, rolling his eyes.

“He is awesome. He plays hide and seek with me when I’m bored.”

The man gave her a measuring look. “I’m glad you have someone to play with.”

“I think pawpaw and Phas are awake too. I heard voices coming from the study.”

“Let’s try your first idea,” the man said brusquely. “Go find the key.”

“Okay,” she agreed, but only because she knew pawpaw would be upset if he found out the monster had a new victim.

“Wait.” The man touched her ankle, his grip strong but his fingers like ice. He was cold, she realised. So cold. “What’s your name, princess?”

She beamed at him. “I’m Rey. What’s yours?”

“My name is Ben. Ben Solo. I need you to remember it. Remember me.”

Rey swallowed a gasp, clutching at her tray table as she exited her waking dream. The girl seated beside her gave her a curious look but quickly went back to watching her shows on a scuffed tablet.

Memories. Kylo’s accident and her resulting concern for him had triggered a cascade of new memories. Except they weren’t new, were they? These memories were old.

Her mind had shaken loose more details from her past. Maul. She now knew the name of her grandfather’s bodyguard. And then there was Snoke, the gardener. Was it a first or last name? Also, who was Phas? Surely she wasn’t thinking of Gwen Phasma, former supermodel and billionaire entrepreneur.

Ben. Kylo had asked her to call him Ben.

Rey massaged her temples, a headache starting to throb behind her right eye. Had Phasma been absorbed into her memory because she’d met the striking blonde the other day? Could she trust this vision of her past?

Whatever the case, it seemed Kylo really was her answer. Rey wanted to be with him now more than ever. If seeing him in pain on a big screen television could break her heart in two and spark precious memories, then something truly important must have taken place between them. Something monumental.

The plane landed and she exhaled a breath she’d seemingly been holding the entire flight. There was a text from Rose containing the name of a hospital and a crying emoji, but Rey refused to dwell on emoji choices. She hailed a taxi and threw herself into the back of it, carry-on bag clutched in her arms.

Twenty minutes later she walked down a squeaky, disinfectant-smelling hallway toward Kylo’s hospital room. She’d been directed to the orthopaedic wing, which made sense. She peeked at the computer screen the nurse was using and saw Kylo was scheduled for an appointment with a surgeon.

The word pealed like a chorus of broken bells in her head. Surgeon. Oh, God- not Kylo. The road to recovery after any surgery was hard. Painful. Frustrating.

She had to stop thinking like that. If anyone could get through it, Kylo could. He was strong, powerful, resilient. He was her hero.

“My hero,” she whispered, pausing at the sight of five men in suits outside his room, some of them speaking into phones. They were probably from the Black Dragons, relaying news to the powers that be, speaking to the media.

She recognised Coach Yoda’s scrunched up face as he spoke to a man in a white coat. He was most likely the surgeon.

And there was another guy further down the corridor, dressed all in black with the hood of his sweater pulled up and his face covered by dark glasses. He turned away as soon as she noticed him.

But none of that mattered. She was here for only one man.

She coughed delicately as she approached the men in suits, gesturing to the door. “Hi, I’m Rey. I’m Kylo’s…” What was she exactly? His private chef? His lover? A girl from his past who could barely remember him?

It was Yoda who stepped forward, his expression kind. “Kylo’s friend you are, yes?”

“Y-yes,” Rey stammered.

“I saw you in the stands at practice this week. Usually nothing distracts Kylo, but notice you, he did.”

Rey blushed pink. “Is he awake?”

A quick flash of a smile. “Come, young one.”

“I’d like to see him too.” As if she’d stepped out of Rey’s dreams into the mundane reality of a hospital, Gwen Phasma appeared. The golden blonde wore a Burberry trench tied snug around the waist, her handbag an adorable mini Birkin. Those two items probably cost more than everything Rey owned in the world. The same three assistants trailed behind Phasma, looking none the happier.

“What are you doing here?” Rey demanded.

Phasma gave her a curious smile. “I could ask you the same thing. Rey, was it?”

“Kylo will not be conducting business tonight,” Yoda spoke sternly.

Phasma had the decency to look embarrassed. “I admit I came to Alderaan to try and talk Kylo into modelling for me one last time, but that’s not why I’m here. I wanted to make sure he’s okay.”

Yoda responded by pushing open Kylo’s room door. Rey followed in his wake, wishing Phasma wasn’t behind her. She heard the diminutive Black Dragons coach snap at a group of three hockey players standing around a hospital bed. Heard him announce her arrival. In the blink of an eye, everyone else faded to shadow and all she saw was Kylo.

He was wide awake, as large and commanding and extraordinary as usual, only now he was wearing a hospital gown. For a moment time stood still. And then she was dropping her bag and running and jumping and wrapping her arms around Kylo’s muscle bound shoulders, burying her teary face in his neck. He didn’t hesitate, picking her up as if she weighed nothing and pulling her onto the bed with him, holding her close.

One big oven mitt of a hand rubbed circles on her back as he murmured, “It’s okay, princess. I’m okay.”

Words involuntarily spilled out of her mouth. “Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me, Ben.”

The moment she spoke his name, she felt Kylo’s grip stiffen. “Everyone out,” he snapped.

“Are you serious?”

“We don’t even get to say hello?”

“What about my chocolate pudding cup?”

Rey blinked, wondering if she’d heard right.

“I’m here too,” Phasma said, sounding unexpectedly nervous as she stood by the doorway.

Kylo continued to soothingly pat Rey. “You don’t take no for an answer, do you, Phas?”

Rey felt a tremor run through her body. It was how she’d referred to the female in her dream.

“We used to be friends,” Phasma said with a return of confidence,

“Calling what we had a friendship is a stretch of the imagination. We used each other to get what we wanted, but we never wanted the same things.”

Phasma shrugged. “At least this time when you get into bed with me, you’ll get paid.”

A low growl escaped Rey’s lips. She tried to slide off Kylo, but his grip around her waist tightened.

“Time to go,” Yoda announced. There was a lot of grumbling and shuffling feet as he left with Kylo’s teammates in tow.

Phasma waited before she spoke again. “Is this who I think it is?”

Kylo scowled. “You need to leave.”

“You’re tempting fate, Kylo.”

“Your opinion doesn’t matter to me, Phas.”

Flawlessly plucked brows lifted almost to her hairline. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

He didn’t say a word until the click-clack of Phasma’s high heels had faded. At last, he eased his grip on Rey. “Since when do you call me Ben?”

Rey gazed into the face of a man who scared most of the world thanks to the number of limbs he’d broken on ice. She traced his scar with the tip of a finger, the mark calling to her like a beacon in the darkness.

Safe. Even stripped, blindfolded and on her knees, she felt safe with him.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “I- I saw the hit and jumped on the first plane I could find.” She must look like an idiot, rushing to Alderaan when he didn’t even need her help.

“My back is banged up, but thankfully surgical intervention isn’t required.” His grim expression softened. “No one’s rushed to my side before.”

“Why not?” Rey could feel her body growing hot and soft and damp in inconvenient places the longer she lay draped across Kylo’s hard body. She tried to slide off him again, but his hold only tightened.

“I guess…” He paused. “I work hard to appear indestructible. Sometimes that means I push away the people I love.”

She licked her lips nervously. “Who do you love?”

His mouth curved into a genuine smile, neither mocking nor malicious. “Why Miss Rey, are you asking about my love life?”

She blushed scarlet. What the hell was wrong with her? For the first time in ten years her mind had given up another puzzle piece to her past, and here she was more concerned about whether she had a romantic snowball’s chance in hell with Kylo than figuring out what her memories meant.

He sighed, reading into her silence. “I don’t do long-term relationships, princess.”

“But you were with Phasma?”

He grimaced. “She contacted me when I was just starting out in the NHL because our paths had crossed before. We hooked up a few times, but there was nothing really there. Her biggest disappointment was failing to sign me to a five-year contract so she could exploit my eventual success.”

“Where did your paths cross?”

“Princess,” he took her hand, his grip enveloping hers. “Why did you call me Ben?”

“I had another dream on the plane,” she confessed. “Another snippet of memory. You- you were chained up, and you asked me to remember your name. Ben Solo.”

He released her then, and her feet touched the cold hospital floor with a thump. “Ben Solo is my birth name. I changed it after…” He hesitated.

“After the incident?” She hadn’t made the connection.

He nodded. “You and I, princess, we’re bound in blood.”

“Will you tell me what happened?”

She gritted her teeth in frustration when he said, “No.”

“Are you kidding?” How dare he deny her the truth? She’d called him her hero, but that couldn’t be right. How could he be her hero when he kept withholding vital information?

Kylo’s next words arrested her flight. “You never have to be alone again.”

“What does that mean?” Her heart ached like an open wound.

“I was eighteen years old when we met, both of us pawns in someone else’s game. Circumstances ripped us apart, and I trusted the adults in my world to do the right thing by you.” He shook his head. “I should’ve known better.”

He’d been eighteen. She’d just turned eighteen and she barely knew anything of the world. What would Kylo… Ben have been like back then?

His next statement took her breath away. “I hired you as a private chef because I wanted to look after you.”

“But… you said no at first.”

“I didn’t believe your story,” he confessed. “I thought you were another girl- a rich, pampered one. A spoiled brat looking to reconnect with a ghost from her past.”

“Why would you assume I was rich?” Rey asked, startled.

Her dream came back to her then; the big, rambling house, her pastel bedroom, her grandfather with his private study, a distant memory of a housekeeper, of Maul, a manservant with an attack dog, of Snoke the gardener. Now that Kylo said it, the details felt screamingly obvious. She’d come from wealth.

It was too much to believe, the delusional fantasy of every orphan that ever existed. Because if she was rich, why was she in the foster system?

“Your memories are returning slowly,” Kylo murmured. “The brain changes with trauma, hides information we’re not ready to process. I don’t want to hurt you by blurting out truths before it’s time, but I’m not pushing you away either.”

Rey wrapped her arms around herself. “You have a plan, I take it?”

“Stay,” he said, his words resonating to her core. “Stay with me. You have a room in my penthouse for as long as you need it.”

“I don’t want your pity,” she snapped, pride coming to the fore.

“Keep cooking and meal prepping. It’s a way for you to earn your keep, and you’ll be helping me out by doing so. If you stay, we get to spend more time together and see where it leads. I’d rather your memories resurface naturally than tell you things you’re not ready to hear.”

Rey shook her head in confusion. “Why would you want me around, Kylo? You were just a teenager when I lost my grandfather. No matter what happened between us, I was never your responsibility.” She took a step towards him. “Why help me?”

He gave her a look from under sleek dark lashes that turned her insides to mush. “I enjoyed playing with you the other day.”

“Excuse me?”

“My sexual preferences are quite specific, princess, and it’s been a long time since someone piqued my interest.”

“Sex?” She sounded as shocked as an elderly maiden aunt in a Regency drama. “Is that all you want from me?”

“No,” he admitted, “but it’s a nice little bonus, don’t you think?”

Rey drew in a shaky breath. This man… he was more twisted than she realised. Their shared past had turned Ben Solo into Kylo Ren, so perhaps learning his dark side wasn’t such a bad thing.

Just admit the truth, Rey- you want to be in Kylo’s bed as badly as he wants you in it.

“I have my own demands.” She glared when he arched an amused brow. “We’re exclusive for as long as we do,” she waved a hand between them, “this. Whatever this is. I won’t share you, Kylo.”

Damn if he didn’t look pleased by her request. “No threesomes or orgies,” he agreed, his tone teasing.

“And if your experiment doesn’t work and my memories remain buried, you’ll tell me what you know by the end of the month.”

He tipped his head to one side consideringly. “That’s too soon. Give it till hockey season finishes, ten weeks from today.”

Apparently Kylo expected her to stick around for a while. “Okay.”

As they shook hands, his callused grip enveloping hers, a shiver of anticipation crawled up Rey’s spine. If this was the outcome she wanted, then why did it feel like she’d just done a deal with the devil?

Chapter Text

Rey had never seen blood droplets sail through the air quite so gracefully. It was practically balletic.

She turned her phone sideways and propped it against a shiny chrome coffee machine, enlarging the hockey highlights to full-screen mode and tapping the volume button in order to hear the commentator’s voice.

“Kylo Ren with a vicious elbow to Hutt’s face. Oh, mama! Somebody call the trainer. Hutt’s just learned the hard way what we’ve known for years. Players risk life and limb when they enter the realm of the King of the Underworld as he’s just proven once again tonight…”

Rey exited the video and returned to the stove, queasiness making her stomach roll. The violence and savagery that occurred on ice was no longer thrilling or sexy. Instead, it was a sign that Kylo could get hurt at any time.

It had been a week since she’d flown to Alderaan and draped herself all over Kylo’s hospital bed. Ten days since she’d started shacking up with a homicidal hockey player whose SportsCenter highlights were known to garner the most views of anyone in the league.

You do realise Kylo’s the one who flattens the most noses on ice, don’t you?

The inescapable feeling that she needed to protect Kylo Ren was crazy.

But when she heard the key turn in the apartment door and her pulse took off like a racehorse, it didn’t seem that far-fetched.

With an equipment bag slung over one shoulder, Kylo walked through the living area, around the open bar and into the kitchen, his eyes searching out Rey from across the marble counter. He nodded once at her. “Hey, you.”

She nodded back. “Hey.”

They stared at each other for a moment, and then she averted her eyes like she always did. Rey dried suddenly damp palms on the thighs of her pink yoga pants.

This was how she’d been since they returned from Alderaan. A lot of staring at the big man and trying not to get caught, but getting caught repeatedly. By the end of the night, she’d give up pretending altogether, openly staring, her gaze borderline possessive. Because she was a freak when it came to Kylo.

Despite promises of hot sexy times, he hadn’t made a move towards her. At first she thought it was because he was waiting for his back to heal, but now… now she wondered whether he wanted her at all. He wasn’t lacking in desperately thirsting fans based on the comments left under the latest Insta pic of him shirtless at the gym, every muscle on his body popping from a workout, skin shiny with sweat.

The image made her womb clench. Great- now she needed fresh panties.

“How was physio?” she asked, her voice coming out shrill.

“Good.”

“That’s… good.” Ugh, could she be more lame?

Rey glanced at Kylo and realised his countenance wasn’t exuding big hungry alpha at the moment. It was giving nothing away at all. But the way he massaged his lower back after setting down the bag… that was rather telling. As were the white brackets that appeared at the corners of his mouth.

“Would you like something to eat?” she asked.

He grunted, visibly distracted by the pain in his back.

“I broiled salmon with lemon and capers. Threw it on top of some broccolini rabe.” She tried to sound casual since salmon and broccolini were at the top of the list of things he liked to eat. She’d finally asked him what he liked. You know, the basic first step any private chef would take.

“Thanks.” As Kylo moved around the kitchen, there was a hitch in his walk.

Rey remained half-turned towards him, watching him, trying to put a name to the fluttering sensation in her belly. Maybe it was his overall freshly showered athletic sexiness that made it impossible not to ogle him. Or maybe it was the fact he was back at home, with her.

“I got the results for my human anatomy exam,” she told him.

“Yeah?” he rumbled. “How did you do?”

“Aced it.”

He smirked. “What a nerd.”

A smiled blossomed across her face. “Damn straight. You should see the research I have planned tonight for my neuroscience paper.”

“Totally cringe.”

She slowly approached him, even though the part of her that had been abused by a myriad adults while she was still a defenceless child was telling her to turn back. Run far, far away. Save herself the rejection. “Would you like me to fix you a plate?”

His chin dipped towards her. “Thanks.”

She ventured even closer, common sense telling her to stop. Cease and desist. Her hand reaching not for an empty plate but the bottle of olive oil she’d yet to put away. “Is your back bothering you?”

He stiffened at the question. “It’s to be expected after a physio session.”

She paused in the act of uncapping the olive oil. Why was her heart beating so fast? It was waiting to be stomped on, she realised. Waiting to be broken. And then she remembered what Kylo had said from his hospital bed: I work hard to appear indestructible. Sometimes that means I push away the people I love.

Was he pushing her away to appear strong?

Rey poured a dollop of olive oil onto her thumb and before he could turn around, she lifted the back of his shirt and dug her thumb into the base of his spine, running it firmly upward. And her big, strong, manly man all but collapsed forward onto the counter, the sound rising from his chest deep and guttural. It was a far more dramatic reaction than she’d expected from the King of the Underworld.

“Do it again,” he hissed through gritted teeth. “Please, princess.”

That please made her pulse quicken. She dug deeper and pressed a horizontal line up the base of his spine, before moving right and rubbing a circular pattern into the hard muscle of his rear hip.

“Faaack,” he said raggedly, fully propped on his forearms now.

Which was when Rey realised she was in deep trouble, because Kylo was a marble-slabbed demigod with a firm ass that was now fully displayed in mesh athletic shorts a foot below her face. She’d practically brought him to his knees with a stroke of her thumb and that was wildly empowering.

She hesitated so long that Kylo straightened up, turning to look at her. “Something wrong?”

“N-no.”

The smile he gave her made her nipples throb in remembered pleasure. “Good.”

He stripped off his t-shirt, tossing it onto the kitchen floor, before grabbing her hand and leading her to the living room.

“Kylo, what are you-”

She stopped talking when he lay down on the couch with a mesmerising ripple of muscle. “Keep going, princess.”

Holy hell, this massage was the worst idea of her life. Rey could feel her pussy clenching tight like a fist, her panties a damp mess. His back muscles were exceptional. Primed. Flexed. The black dragon tattoo went from his right shoulder all the way down to the centre of his back before wrapping around a hip.

“You okay back there?”

“Yes,” she blurted out, approaching him like one would a sleeping tiger.

The angle was awkward and she finally had to straddle his thick butt, almost causing a heat rash to break out under her clothes. She dug her thumbs into him once more, forced to grit her teeth when he gave a deep purr of satisfaction, the rumble vibrating through to her fingertips.

Oh, God. He was so warm and hard and taut. Everywhere. With a body to end all bodies. How would a man like Kylo Ren make love? Hard and fast and furious, she bet. Unless he chose to go slow so he could torment his lover. She already knew he liked to play games in the bedroom.

Stop dreaming, Rey. You’re in enough trouble when it comes to this guy.

Because the truth was she didn’t know if she could trust Kylo. Sure, he’d opened up his home to her and offered her a dream job, but she wasn’t naïve enough to believe he was doing it all for her. Or that he cared about her. No, Kylo had his own agenda, and she needed to work out what it was, otherwise she might never find the truth of her past.

“Could you go a little lower, sweetheart?” The sheer gratification in his voice made her skin all goose bumpy.

“Sure.” She tucked her fingers into the waistband of his shorts and shimmied them down, revealing twin dimples at the very base of his spine, and the breathtaking top swell of his butt. Just the very beginning of it, only the shadow of his crack appearing, but it was enough to make her wonder what would happen if she applied her tongue and teeth to his flesh instead of her thumbs.

Stop. Drooling.

Kylo looked back over his shoulder, eyebrows up. “What did you say?”

Fricking frack- she did not just speak out loud. Mentally floundering, she pushed her thumbs into the newly exposed plane of his back and he turned around in a flash, groaning and clutching at a couch cushion. “Son of a bitch!”

“Is that better?” Rey asked briskly.

“How do you know to do that?” he asked, his sides expanded and relaxed.

She shrugged even though he couldn’t see, sliding her flat palms up his back and going to work on his shoulders, forgetting for a moment he wasn’t sore there. “I had this foster mom, Maz. She was the best, one of the few who actually cared about us kids. Anyway, she used to be a nurse and showed me how to give the best massages.”

He was silent for a beat, though he tilted his head right so she could stroke up the sides of his neck. Rey was biting her lower lip, trying to stop herself from lying down on top of Kylo and pressing her breasts into his hard back.

“Are you still in touch with Maz?” he softly panted.

“Um, no. I was moved on from her place, but nobody told me why. Turns out she had cancer and passed away a year ago.” She dragged all ten of her fingers down the rocky terrain of his back and pressed her thumbs into the twin dimples just above the curve of his butt, savouring the way his breath shifted. “I only found out because I went digging online.”

“Rey.” His voice was different, almost tender.

“Yeah?”

“No one’s going to force you out of my place. You get to stay as long as you want.”

“You said that before, but I don’t fully believe you. I don’t know you, Kylo. I mean, I know the stuff that’s been said about you in magazines and TV broadcasts, but that’s not the real you.”

He sighed, abruptly rolling over and catching her before she was knocked off him. “You do know me, princess.”

Rey was trying to focus on the conversation, but she’d lost her mind a little at the sight of Kylo’s mighty, god-like chest. And his stomach, all ridged and toned like a comic book superhero.

Oh. She might have to throw away her panties after this.

And then he really shocked her by saying, “Ask me a question.”

“What?” she gasped, draped over the half naked body of a pro hockey player in his prime, his huge hands wrapped around her hips, holding her secure. She could barely think, much less acknowledge his statement.

“Ask a question,” he repeated. “Something you want to know about me.”

Rey hesitated, trying to piece together her scattered thoughts. “Why would you let me do that?”

His gaze was hot, almost golden, his body relaxed after the back massage. “You said you don’t know me, so why don’t we change that?”

“O-okay.” Her cheeks flushed a deeper red with each passing second, and then she thought of something. “I want to know why you were in the basement of my childhood home.”

He threw back his head and laughed, a real belly laugh that had her staring because she’d never seen him look like that before. Wildly joyous.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, trying not to squirm against his bare chest.

He chuckled more softly. “Look at you exploiting a loophole to find out about your past.”

“I did ask about you,” she protested, making him smirk. “Why were you in my home, Kylo?”

His expression grew thoughtful. “You remember the chains and the blood. Can’t you guess?”

“I knew you didn’t mean it,” she snapped, pushing off his body in anger. “Of course you’re answering my question with another question.”

His arms tightened around her hips, pinning her in place. “I was being held against my will, princess. I was in that basement because I’d been kidnapped.”

Chapter Text

The moment he spoke the words, Kylo knew he couldn’t stop there. There was careful, and then there was cruel. And leaving Rey hanging after the bombshell he’d dropped was just plain cruel.

The little he heard about the life she’d led after the incident indicated a decade of neglect and abuse. He couldn’t treat Rey with the callous practicality his grandfather demanded.

Anakin wanted to protect Kylo out of love, but that only made his grandfather more and not less ruthless when it came to his only grandchild. If Anakin found out Rey was living with him, slowly learning the secrets of her past, they’d both be in trouble.

There was also her birth family to contend with. After abandoning her to the foster system, what would they think about Rey regaining her memories? There was danger on every side.

“Who kidnapped you, Kylo?” Rey’s question broke the hushed silence that had fallen over his living room. She watched him with anxious eyes, perched atop his chest like a mermaid on a rock.

“Once upon a time,” he began, “there were two rivals; powerful men with money and influence who were also sworn enemies.”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

“It wasn’t always that way,” he went on, ignoring her irritation. “The older man had once mentored the younger, treating him almost like a son. But then they had a falling out.”

“What about?” Rey asked, deciding to play his game.

He sat up, manoeuvring her slight form so he could keep her on his lap. “Love.”

An unexpected smile twitched petal pink lips. “Always so dramatic, Mr King of the Underworld.”

He felt the knot in his stomach ease at her teasing. “The younger of the two fell in love, and with that came a wife who changed his thinking in ways that upset his mentor.”

“How selfish.”

“What’s that?”

Rey frowned. “If the older man truly cared for the younger one, then he must have realised at some point their lives would diverge. His protégé needed to become his own man. Building a family seems the least objectionable way of doing it.”

“I agree,” Kylo murmured. “But this isn’t about logic or common sense. Sometimes our desires are unreasonable.”

She gave him a look from under feathered lashes that had his loins tightening. “True.”

He stroked a hand down her spine, making her shiver. “Before long the two men were battling for the same business deals, the same contracts and clients. Neither one was prepared to back down, and competition between them grew ruthless. Until what was once a friendship became a rivalry and after multiple slights and perceived insults, their competition turned poisonous.”

“How bad did it get?” Rey asked, brow furrowed.

“Bad. Industrial espionage, leaked documents to the press, and torched warehouses kind of bad.”

“That’s awful.”

“Yeah.”

Silence stretched out between them as Kylo reflected on what he hadn’t said.

“So your kidnapping was a result of this tension?” Rey asked, desperate for details.

He shrugged. “I’m done talking.” She stared at him in dismay. “I told you once and I’m telling you again- I won’t force your memories, princess.”

“But you’ve given me some background information,” she surmised, nibbling her lower lip.

Kylo swooped, unable to hold back any longer. Here he sat, naked except for a pair of shorts, a delectable Rey inside his embrace, and he couldn’t help but kiss her. Their tongues tangled, his arms tightening around her slim frame and her body leaning into his.

He’d been holding back the last few days. After he had time to consider the agreement they’d made in the hospital, he began to feel like a predator. He’d suggested a sexual component to their relationship so Rey didn’t suspect how much he cared about her, his need to protect her overwhelming logic and common sense, but neither was he going to stop himself from screwing the pretty little co-ed. Not when she seemed happy to screw him right back.

As their kiss deepened and passion ignited, the dark shadows of his past reared their ugly heads. He’d grown up Ben Solo, a normal young man surrounded by family and friends... and then came the day of his kidnapping. It was a mere forty-eight hours of his life, but he’d emerged from it changed forever with a brand new name. Kylo Ren. It was this alter ego whose violence he needed to satisfy.

Sex was no longer mere physical release. He played at a level of vicious eroticism that scared most women away- but not Rey. She’d enjoyed putting on the blindfold, and was turned on when he’d taken away her power, leaving her body at his mercy. She climaxed hard when he tortured her breasts, making her nipples as red and swollen as ripe strawberries.

The sound of tearing cloth filled the air. He’d ripped off her thin cotton tank top, leaving her in a lacey white bralette and skintight pink yoga pants. Rey stared at him with wild eyes, as if that would make what he’d done more understandable. It didn’t.

He wondered what she saw, the brooding hockey player turned beast.

She crossed both arms over her chest, tan skin covered in goosebumps. “What are you doing?” She didn’t sound angry, simply confused. “I don’t have the money to buy a new wardrobe every time you want to see me naked.”

He chuckled low in his throat. “I’ll look after you, princess.”

Her back straightened, eyes hot. “I’m no one’s whore, Kylo. That’s not why I’m here.”

“It isn’t prostitution when a man wants to make your fantasies come to life. I call it fair exchange.”

A tremble affected her limbs, her thighs parting as if he’d asked for it. He grabbed her hands and pushed them down to her sides, wanting her chest exposed. There was nothing gentle about his actions. Just like when he was on the ice, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Kylo Ren was chaos incarnate. It was what made him so good in bed.

He wrapped one hand around her wrists, his fingers long enough to keep her bound, imprisoning them behind her back. Her spine bowed in response, thrusting her breasts in his face, plump fruits begging to be devoured.

“You have beautiful tits,” he muttered. It was unlike him- he usually didn’t have much more to say than brief commands- sit, kneel, bend over, open wide and spread your legs.

Rey flushed, pupils dilating in response. His little princess enjoyed the praise. Good to know.

He tore her bralette, making her cry out, breasts spilling free with a tender bounce. He wanted to bruise her flesh. Eat her up. Own her.

“K-Kylo.” She almost choked on his name.

“I won’t keep you waiting, princess,” he husked, thumbing a nipple before pinching it.

She gasped and moaned at the same time. He loved the sounds that spilled from her mouth, as if she couldn’t help herself. Many would consider his predilection for pain a sickness, but it seemed Rey was attuned to his disease. What did that make her? Make them?

“I must warn you, princess,” he crooned, twisting her nipple again and watching her squirm, sweet cries escaping her lips. “I have the urge to break you.” He paused, pinching her other bud until she was trembling with need. “I’m not sure you’re a good girl, but you’d like to be one for me, wouldn’t you?”

“Kylo…” Rey’s voice was thready, fragmented. She shook her head, unsure what to say or do.

“Darling Rey,” he husked, grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling hard enough to make her wince. Her name felt foreign on his lips, maddeningly so. “What do you want, princess? Shall I make your come?”

She swallowed past the thickness in her throat, thighs rubbing as proof that the sensations he was eliciting in her breasts were travelling straight to her core. Making her swollen and slippery.

He tightened his hold on her wrists, trapping her against him. It only got her more excited, her breathing so choppy it had turned into panting. This imprisonment by him was something she wanted. There was a strange sense of freedom in realising you had no way out. No escape.

Kylo understood just how fucked up this scenario was, especially given his past, but he didn’t care. His manhood was forged steel, his blood simmering with desire. A week ago, he had no use for a girlfriend or a long term relationship, but now he couldn’t stop thinking about her- Rey- her shiny hair, her glossy lips, her smooth, golden skin. The whole damn package.

“I need you to speak the words,” he murmured.

She stared at him, her expression caught between a disbelieving glare and defenceless pleading. “Wh-what words?”

He pinched her nipples again and she collapsed against his hard chest, biting her lip to prevent more wanton sounds. “Tell me what you want, princess, or we’ll keep doing this all day. I’ll edge you close but never provide you release.”

She gaped, unsure if he was for real. He crushed a nipple between thumb and forefinger, and she cried out at the bolt of pain. Her thighs were shaking with need.

“Pup-please,” she whimpered. “Please make me come.”

His smile was without mercy. “That’s right, princess.”

He roughly shoved her off his lap and she yelped as she fell onto the carpet with a thud. A split second later, he was on top of her. He reminded himself that Rey was new to his lifestyle. She’d never been with a man like him, a man with his predilections.

He wanted to destroy every lover that had come before him. How dare they touch what was his?

Don’t fall down the rabbit hole. This is a fantasy- nothing more, nothing less.

Besides, Rey didn’t fit any of his usual criteria. She wasn’t dark and sensual, dressed in red vinyl. She wore pink and smiled all the time, hair bouncy and lips like candy. So how come when he closed his eyes at night, hers was the face in his dreams?

He never dreamt about women. He only had nightmares about monsters- one in particular.

“Kylo… are you with me?”

He blinked, staring down at the young woman pinned beneath his muscled body. “Do you know how beautiful you look, princess? Like you’re ready for the taking.”

Her cheeks reddened. “You- you think I’m beautiful?”

He slid down her body, pushing his knees between her thighs, spreading her legs without so much as a by-your-leave.

“Look at you,” he purred, running a finger along the damp patch that darkened her crotch. She instinctively tried to close her legs, but he slapped her twice, a sting on each thigh, making her cry out. “You’re soaking wet and ready to be fucked.”

“You don’t have to talk like that,” she gasped. “Nice guys don’t talk like that.”

“Who said I was a nice guy?” He pressed his finger more firmly along her plump mound encased in pink spandex, feeling her pussy folds part at his insistence. She whimpered and squirmed. “I’m the bad guy, princess. I’m the guy who fucks you so hard you’re limping the next morning. I’m the guy who’s gonna make you scream, and not just because it feels good.”

“Oh,” she whined, breasts rising and falling as her pulse picked up speed. “O-okay.”

Kylo smirked. He knew it. He knew his little princess was perfect in every way. His twisted fantasies didn’t scare her.

He hooked his fingers on either side of her yoga pants and peeled them off in one go. She was naked underneath, her pussy gorgeous and wet, pink slit parted as if waiting for the inevitable intrusion, a tiny thatch of red curls adorning her mound.

“I want your hands flat on the carpet,” he growled, the command making her lower lip quiver. “The only way we do this is if I’m in total control.”

She nodded shakily, fingers spreading on plush material. As soon as she complied, he buried his face between her legs, stroking his tongue through her gushing slit, licking her from clit to hole.

Her back arched off the ground. “Kylo!” He liked the sound of his name on her lips.

He ate her out like a savage, lapping her pussy hard and fast, teeth nibbling and lips suckling, nuzzling his nose inside her folds, breathing her in as if she was a bouquet of roses. She was sweet and tart and perfect.

“K-Kylo,” she moaned.

He emerged, licking his lips like a wolf with a juicy steak. “You’re delicious, princess. I could eat you all day long.”

He returned to her pussy, thrusting his tongue in and out of her hot little hole suggestively, fucking her, devouring her. She babbled mindlessly and reached for his hair, needing the contact as he brought her closer to the edge.

The moment he felt her fingers in his locks, he stopped what he was doing.

Rey wailed. “What? Wh-why?” She was struggling to speak in full sentences.

“Bad girl,” Kylo growled. “I told you to keep your hands on the carpet.”

She let go of his head and slammed her palms on either side of her, so breathless it was as if she’d been running up a hill. “Please, Kylo, I’ll be good. I’ll be your good girl.”

His eyes darkened, deep amber becoming potent black, wild with internal fury. His cock throbbed between his legs like heated steel. “Say it again.” He spoke low against the lips of her wet pussy, making sure she felt the vibrations on sensitive skin.

“I- I’ll be good,” she sighed.

That was all it took. He opened his mouth over her moist core, curling his tongue around her hypersensitive clit and rubbed. His focus was her hard little pearl, and he teased it to the point of no return.

She snapped upright as he brought her to orgasm, thighs shaking, pussy gushing, and skin flushed. Her climax reduced her to a sobbing mess. The sensation owning her. Making her his.

Rey bit down on her lower lip and just as sensual pulses began to slow, Kylo slapped her pussy hard. She let out a shriek, lashes fluttering open. “What was that for?” she asked, eyes still glazed from pleasure.

“The next time you bite your lip to hide your screams, it won’t be my palm slapping your pussy,” he husked.

“I- I…” She quivered beneath him, both shocked and aroused.

“Remember your promise, princess.”

Rey nodded, her lips softening into a sensual pout. “I’ll be good for you, Kylo.”

“Prove it.”

She opened her thighs even wider. “Let’s go again. This time when I come I’ll scream loud enough for the neighbours to hear.”

Kylo felt his heart explode inside his chest, heady emotion and erotic desire melding together for the first time in his life. Rey… she was going to be the death of him.

Chapter Text

Rey wondered if this was what it felt like when a girl’s wet dreams came true.

She lay flat on her back, her clothes scattered around her like so much confetti, the heavily muscled form of Kylo Ren knelt between her widespread thighs, his plush lips focused on her swollen clit.

He wasn’t even bothering to take it slow. Round two and he was devouring her aching wet pussy like a man ending a week long hunger strike. He’d already brought her close to the edge… and there she went tumbling over the side of a metaphorical cliff like the slutty little daredevil she wasn’t. This time, orgasmic waves hit her harder and faster, making her limbs shake and her muscles clench.

She screamed as promised, putting her bliss on show, head rolling back and eyes fluttering closed. “Kylo… oh, Kylo!” He deserved every accolade in the world for how hard he’d made her come.

“That’s right, princess,” he grunted, nipping on her tortured clit. “All me.”

She writhed on an expensive rug, nails digging into soft fibres, unable to keep still. He’d turned her into someone she barely recognised.

This was not like her at all. Rey Niima didn’t pant after men or enjoy breathtaking cunnilingus. She was the wallflower everyone ignored, and that was okay with her because it was a deliberate choice. It was how she preferred to exist. Under the radar and safe as houses.

That was until she met Kylo Ren, a man capable of turning a shrinking violet into a party animal on speed. It wasn’t as if she wanted anyone else’s attention- just his. This guy. The one who had her knees draped over his broad shoulders as he continued to lap at her weeping pussy.

“Kylo…” Her brain cells were slowly coming back to life.

“What is it, princess?” he asked, the vibration of his voice against her slit turning her delirious. “Want me to stop? Or maybe we try for a third orgasm?” He licked her thoroughly, from the top of her juicy folds all the way to the bottom.

“I- I don’t know.” She really didn’t. What did girls with sexual experience do in a situation like this?

“I want to tuck your feet behind your ears and fuck you like a dirty little whore.”

Rey blinked. That wasn’t normal, was it? Kylo’s bedroom conversation was reprehensible. Any decent feminist would’ve been scandalised by what he was saying, except all it did was make her wetter. Why was she turned on by his words, the nastier the better?

“You like being used by me, don’t you, princess?” he murmured, climbing up her body and slamming his lips onto hers.

He invaded her mouth with his tongue, hot and wet and salty, and she kissed him back like he was oxygen. This also was new to her. She’d never made out with a guy before. There were awkward kisses with boys from high school, but she always ended it before things went too far. Intimacy wasn’t something she craved- it was a barrier to what she wanted. Truth. Knowledge. Independence.

The fact that she couldn’t get enough of Kylo’s kiss should have alarmed her, except she didn’t care anymore. All she knew was that she wanted more of him. More, more, more. With Kylo, nothing was enough. She wanted, needed, craved more. More kisses. More touching. She was starving for more of him.

“You taste like strawberries and regret,” Kylo spoke against her cheek. “But guess what’ll taste even better?”

Rey shook her head, barely able to focus.

“My come slip-sliding down your throat.”

She must have been out of her mind, because the moment he said those words, she reached for him. Wanting exactly what he promised.

The way Kylo was treating her now… had she always desired this? A man who’d take charge of her, body, mind and soul, his words igniting a fire deep inside.

Kylo grabbed her by the arms and pulled her off her back and onto her knees, breasts tight and pussy raw from being eaten out twice. He towered over her like a demigod. The King of the Underworld indeed. Heh.

The meaning of his name became clearer than ever. It wasn’t just the way he ruled the rink, it was the way he ordered his life and the lives of those around him. He was ruthless and domineering, and now that focus was on her. For some reason, she was his next goal. He was never letting go until he got what he wanted.

“Time to taste, princess, and make it good.”

She stared at him for one second.

Two.

Three.

“You want me to set the pace?” he asked, sounding strangely matter of fact. “You may not be prepared for how hard I go.”

“Wait.” Her voice quivered. “I’ll do it.”

He pushed her hair out of her face, wanting a better view.

She tugged on his shorts and they landed on the ground, making it easy for him to kick them away. He now stood in black trunks that moulded lovingly to his body. She’d seen his muscled thighs before in extravagantly posed selfies and modelling shots, the whole world had, but it was the first time she wanted them wrapped around her head. Crushing her with their strength.

“You have three seconds to grab my dick, princess, or all bets are off.” His voice wrenched her out of violent daydreams.

She willed her fingers to stop trembling as she reached inside his jocks. Oh. Oh, my. Rey had secretly hoped that, despite his imposing physicality, Kylo’s cock would be a more manageable size. Well, the truth was right in front of her eyes.

He was huge. So big that a shiver of anxiety worked its way along her spine. Would it hurt trying to fit him into her mouth and down her throat? Her well-licked pussy clenched like a fist at the thought. Damn, she was messed up.

“I’ve never done this before, Kylo,” she said. “I’ve never given a blowjob.” She wasn’t sure why she confessed the truth when it made her self-conscious, but it was out there now. And she couldn’t meet his eyes.

He gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “This isn’t just a blowjob, princess. I’m about to fuck your mouth real good.”

Before she could react, he clutched a fistful of her hair in one hand and grabbed his swollen cock in the other, pushing the leaking tip against her lips. The first thing she tasted was salty pre-cum, and then his hot, smooth skin, after which she was a goner. Her mind a little crazed, her pulse skittering and her breath short. She didn’t wait for instruction before opening her mouth wide. In return, he didn’t pretend to go slow.

His first thrust hit the back of her throat and she choked, her air supply vanishing. She placed both hands on his thighs, nails digging in instinctively. He forced her head further down his shaft, using her hair as a handle. Tears swelled her eyes and fell down her cheeks. But she didn’t cry out, didn’t beg him to stop. All she knew was that she wanted more.

“No touching,” he snapped.

She dropped her hands to her side, obeying at once, not even stopping to think about it. Not anymore. The moment her hands left his thighs, he pulled out a few inches, allowing her a large gulp of air before thrusting into her mouth again and again. Once more stealing her breath and her sanity.

Her nipples tightened, her pussy thrummed, and the need to climax hit her hard. She was turning into a nymphomaniac all because of Kylo Ren. She couldn’t stop thinking about how she was helping him come just like he’d made her come. Bringing him pleasure like the good girl she’d promised to be.

“Gorgeous,” he groaned, cheekbones tight against pale skin. “You look so pretty making my dick all wet so I can slide it inside your tiny cunt later. Your eyes are begging for it.”

She fluttered her lashes up at him, keeping her hazel gaze locked onto his amber ones. She didn’t mean to look so greedy and debauched, but she couldn’t help it. Kylo was ruining her, like poison flowing through her veins. And she was enjoying every second of her own corruption.

This was different to the fantasies she’d had about the big bad captain of the Black Dragons. This was way better.

“How do I taste, princess?” he gasped, thrusting hard. “I want to come inside you so bad.” Thrust. “Fill your belly with my seed.” Thrust. “Own you completely.” Thrust.

It was a good thing her mouth was full of cock because she might have screamed her bliss right there and then. When she was with him, the chains that kept her inhibited shattered like glass. As if they never existed in the first place.

Kylo was setting her free in ways she never thought possible… and she loved him for it.

Loved. Him.

Don’t.

Don’t forget why you’re here.

Don’t forget why you need him.

As he fucked her mouth, using her so brutally her lips were becoming swollen and bruised, she couldn’t help enjoying herself. She’d never consider getting on her knees for anyone else. It was a humiliating position, an act of degradation, but with him… it felt like coming home again. Like belonging.

With him, she was as empowered as she was debased, because he was giving her just as much pleasure as she was offering. Owning him as much as he wanted to own her.

With every slide into her wet, willing mouth, he stole a piece of her heart, but she was determined to steal his right back. The parts he never revealed to anyone else.

Just because she was on her knees, it didn’t mean she had no agency. It only meant she was participating in an entirely new power dynamic. An unconventional one.

The sleek black console on the marble coffee table buzzed suddenly. They froze in sexy tableau, Kylo’s pulsing cock wedged deep in the back of Rey’s aching throat, his big hand keeping her there by her hair, her knees spread wide on the floor.

With casual grace, he leant over and tapped a button. “Yes? What is it?”

Rey blinked. Kylo sounded surprisingly normal considering their position.

Black dots began to form in her peripheral vision due to a lack of oxygen. She was drifting, riding a wave of lust, reluctant to give up on this feeling.

“Mr Ren, this is Mitaka with building management. I apologise for the interruption, but there’s been a security breach.”

Kylo pulled out half an inch and oxygen filled Rey’s lungs, an oddly euphoric sensation.

“Why are you calling me?”

“You may want to interview the perpetrator before we contact the police. Your name was mentioned.”

Kylo focused dilated irises on Rey, absentmindedly tugging on her hair. “Fine. I’ll be down in a minute.” He abruptly hung up.

Rey tried to speak, but her mouth was still too full of his pulsing organ. He noticed.

“Should I have invited Mitaka to the penthouse?” Kylo smirked. “You could give him a show by choking on my dick like a pretty slut.”

Rey shook her head frantically. At last Kylo had suggested an activity that freaked her out.

“No? Not an exhibitionist then.” He tightened his grip on her hair. “Good. The only one who gets to see you this way is me.”

The words made her lightheaded, but it wasn’t because of a lack of air. She delighted in his possessiveness, her heart becoming more and more entangled in his web.

He went back to thrusting his swollen cock in and out of her willing mouth, faster and harder than before. His hold on her hair ensured that she was unable to move except with his approval. She was a marionette in his hands; a wanton, willing puppet for his desires.

All of a sudden, his spine snapped straight and his head fell back. She stared up at the image he made, all steel cut muscles and unfiltered masculine beauty. Something salty hit the back of her throat, and then more and more, until his seed overflowed her lips, dripping onto her chin.

Kylo grunted like an animal as he came, dropping his head to watch her with glazed eyes. He was in a haze as he pulled out of her sore mouth, gathering the drips of his spending and coating her lips with it, not wanting her to waste a drop. She didn’t hesitate to lick his fingers clean, making him groan with pleasure.

The sounds coming from deep in his chest did something to her. Pride swelled her lungs. She was the reason Kylo was blissed out. She’d been used by this man, but all she felt was happy.

She was in so much trouble.

Chapter Text

Minutes after he’d spent himself down Rey’s throat, Kylo was showered and dressed. He wore a black t-shirt, jeans, and red limited edition Black Dragons sneakers, his casual attire hiding the fact that he’d come so hard he could still feel a tremble in normally rock solid thighs.

His princess was liable to kill him if they kept this up. He hadn’t even screwed her yet and he was obsessed.

Unfortunately, there was a security breach to attend.

With a past that included kidnapping and torture, Kylo was now a stickler for safety. Hence the motion sensor cameras planted all over his penthouse. He’d also made it a point to interact with the man in charge of his apartment building’s day to day running and knew Dopheld Mitaka in a professional capacity.

Mitaka was too experienced to waste Kylo’s time with fluff. He wouldn’t dare call his hockey superstar resident for issues involving rabid fans or bothersome paparazzi. Mitaka had handled it all, including a rival supporter who came after Kylo with a knife because he decided it was unacceptable that the King of the Underworld had denied his hockey team the championship cup. That particular lunatic was still in jail for his efforts.

So whatever was waiting for Kylo downstairs, it must be worth his attention.

“I’m coming with you,” Rey announced, reappearing just as he reached the front door.

Kylo was ready to say no but paused when confronted by the sight of Rey’s lithe body in a ruffled pink minidress with slinky spaghetti straps, tanned legs accentuated by white sandals. Her lips were puffy and her cheeks flushed, but it only made her more beautiful.

The need to keep her close spiked like a drug. “Why?” he asked instead, refusing to give in easily on principle.

She shrugged. “The more I hang around you, the more likely you do something to trigger forgotten memories. Besides, whoever tried to get into your building is noteworthy enough that they called and asked you to check it out personally. Now I’m curious.”

He laughed, and she looked shocked by his good humour. She wasn’t wrong. Who the hell was he turning into around this girl? “Fine, but don’t get in my way.”

“Like how your cock got in the way of my ability to breathe?” she crooned, surprising him once more.

They were in the elevator by then, and he took the opportunity to pin Rey against mirrored walls and kiss her like it was going out of fashion. She tasted of spearmint toothpaste, and it amused him to know she’d found the time to brush her teeth after the brutal way he’d used her mouth.

Considering he was her first blowjob, she’d inhaled his cock like a champ, swallowing every inch of his undeniably lengthy shaft until her nose was buried in short black hairs. He’d take that image with him to the grave.

Kylo was considering lifting Rey into his arms and sliding his cock into her undoubtedly wet pussy when the elevator reached the ground floor. The doors slid open to reveal Mitaka, bemused by the sight of Rey straightening her dress and Kylo wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Good evening, Mr Ren,” Mitaka politely murmured.

Kylo nodded and nearly rolled his eyes when Rey waved at the building manager in greeting. Eyes bright, lips smiling, she looked like she was ready for a trip to Disneyland.

Just then, the central elevator door slid open as well.

“What the hell?” Kylo said when he saw who it was.

Hux glanced from Kylo to Rey and back again, eyebrows raised. “I could say the same thing to you.” The redhead was dressed in black lounge pants and a white silk shirt that lay half unbuttoned against his muscled chest, his red hair uncharacteristically mussed. He’d clearly been relaxing at home.

“Ah, Mr Hux, as I mentioned, it was a mistake to call you,” Mitaka said. “I do apologise for the error…”

“Wait, what?” Kylo interrupted the grovelling manager. “Why did you call Hux?”

Mitaka hesitated. “Well, er, the intruder first mentioned Mr Hux before recanting and asking to see you, Mr Ren.”

Rey’s eyes grew big. “That’s weird.”

“Are you for real?” Hux said, turning on Mitaka. “What makes you so sure you’re not being manipulated by another obsessed Black Dragons fan?”

Mitaka was starting to sweat under his dark suit. “The intruder had identification, sir.”

“Enough time wasting,” Kylo snapped. “Take me to this person right now.”

“If she’s going,” Hux snarled, glaring at Rey, “I’m coming too.”

“The more the merrier!” Rey beamed.

Kylo barely restrained a groan.

Mitaka led them around the elevator shaft to his ground floor office, the room small but well appointed, evening sunlight streaming in through mullioned windows.

“Rose!” Rey squealed before Kylo or Hux could react.

The brunette sat with one hand cuffed to her chair, looking like she was in the middle of questioning her life’s choices. “Rey? I asked for Kylo. Why are you here?” Her flashing brown eyes caught sight of Hux. “Oh, hell no. You can leave- you’re not welcome.”

Hux stared at Rose. “Neither are you, apparently.” Before she could reply, Hux said to Mitaka, “Get those cuffs off her.”

The cold fury of his words had Mitaka falling all over himself to obey. Soon, Rose was rubbing her freed wrist in relief.

“Do you know this woman, sir?” Mitaka asked Kylo uncertainly. “She requested I contact Mr Hux, but after I reached him, she changed her mind and asked for you instead. Her credentials show that she works for the Black Dragons.”

“Yeah, I know her,” Kylo spoke reluctantly. He had no desire to become involved in whatever messy post-breakup shenanigans were going on between Rose and Hux.

“This is all a big mix-up. I came here to see Rey,” Rose said, prompting Hux to snort derisively. “The only reason I look like a criminal is because I spotted someone else trying to break into the surveillance room. I followed the guy, and he ended up knocking me over and locking me inside.” She glared at Mitaka. “I’m not the intruder here.”

“Are you okay?” Hux asked.

Rose flushed. “I- I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why don’t we take this upstairs,” Rey suggested when Rose sent her a pleading look.

The plan made sense to Kylo. “I’ll take over from here, Mitaka.”

“But sir, I’ll need to interview the girl about the other intruder.”

“I’ll make sure you get Rose’s number before the day is done.” Kylo glanced at Rose, and she nodded in relief.

Minutes later, Kylo, Rey, Rose and Hux were back inside Kylo’s apartment. He saw Rey blush when Rose took the seat closest to where they’d recently pleasured each other. Rose also noticed, but fortunately for them Hux distracted her before she could say anything.

“Why not call me?” Hux barked, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Why change your mind?”

“You dumped me, remember?” Rose replied, arms folded across her chest. “I figured you wouldn’t want to hang out. Besides, I really am here to see Rey.”

“No one believes you,” Hux said.

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“Come on, guys,” Kylo said, interrupting their argument. “This was not how I intended on spending my evening.”

Despite glowing red cheeks since she knew exactly what- or who- he’d prefer to be doing, Rey asked Rose, “Why would you chase some sketchy dude who was trying to break into the building?”

Rose huffed irritably. “Because he wanted to get into the penthouse floor, which meant he was either after Armi or Kylo.”

“How d’you know that?” Kylo asked.

“I overheard this dude talking to some little old lady who was leaving to walk her dog. He pretended he’d forgotten his key and asked her to buzz him up, but she was smart enough to send him to the concierge.” Rose frowned. “It was all pretty amateurish actually.”

Kylo felt a twinge of concern. “What did the intruder look like?”

Rose shook her head. “I’m sorry. All I can say definitively is that he was tall and thin. He had on a black jumper with the hood up and big black aviator shades so you could hardly see his face.”

“Kylo,” Rey spoke hesitantly, “remember the day we met, when you carried me through the arena parking lot because I wasn’t walking fast enough for you? Wasn’t there a guy lurking near your car in a black hoodie and shades?”

Kylo shrugged. “I don’t really remember. Honestly, princess, fans follow me around all the time. A single carpark attendant isn’t going to make me take notice.”

“Did you just call her princess?” Rose asked, startled.

“And then the evening I arrived in Alderaan,” Rey continued, ignoring Rose’s interruption, “there was a guy standing in the hospital corridor dressed in a black hoodie and glasses.”

Kylo audibly sighed. “Are you making connections because they actually exist or because you want them to exist? Not everything that happens is linked to our past.”

“But what if this is?” Rey asked. “Maybe we’ve stirred up something we shouldn’t have.”

This was closer to the truth than he’d expected, and not for the first time Kylo wondered what the hell he was doing inviting Rey into his home. “Look at this logically. If the man in the black hoodie from the carpark was the same guy from today, how could it be about us? We hadn’t seen each other for years. It’s more likely Hux and I have a stalker.”

He hated pricking her bubble, but one of them had to stay grounded. The facts surrounding their connection were bizarre enough without piling on unfounded conspiracy theories.

“You’re right,” she said, face falling. “I’m not thinking straight.”

Kylo grabbed Rey around the waist and pulled her close, wanting to ease her embarrassment. “You’re chasing your past, princess, and it’s making you hopeful. That’s all it is.”

She looked up at him with wet eyes.

“What the hell is going on?” Rose was staring at Kylo and Rey in disbelief. “Are you two, like, together together? When did this happen?”

“Don’t you know, Rosie,” Hux smirked, “Kylo and Rey met years ago.”

“What?” Rose shrieked.

Kylo felt Rey stiffen inside his embrace. “You told Hux about us?”

“I didn’t say much,” Kylo assured her.

“He mentioned you’re an amnesiac,” Hux said with a condescending smile. “It sounded like something from a movie script.”

“What the fuck, bro?” Kylo snapped as Rey pushed him away.

“Come on, dude. How likely is it that some girl you knew years ago shows up claiming memory loss and needing your financial support? It’s way too convenient.”

“I haven’t asked Kylo for a single cent,” Rey spoke furiously.

“Not yet, anyway,” Hux retorted. “You’re just shacked up in his apartment and based on how comfortable you two are around each other, screwing him six ways to Sunday.”

Kylo’s legendary temper sparked and he grabbed his friend by the collar. “You’ve crossed a line, Hux. Apologise right now.”

“Make me, Ren.”

Before the boys could start throwing punches, Rose spoke dazedly. “You used me, Rey.”

“Rose, please.” Rey looked like she’d swallowed a bug.

“Did you befriend me just so I could help you reconnect with Kylo?” Rose demanded.

Rey licked dry lips. “That was part of it, but Rosie, you have to know our friendship is the real deal. You’re closer to me than anyone I’ve known.”

“Not close enough to tell me the truth.” Rose drew a shaky breath, glancing from Hux to Rey. “Betrayed by my boyfriend and my best friend. I guess I should be glad I didn’t come home from class to find the two of you screwing on my bed.”

With those words, the brunette stormed out of the apartment. After a shocked second, Rey ran after her.

“Fuck,” Hux muttered as soon as he and Kylo were alone.

“Yeah,” Kylo agreed.

“Should we go after them?”

Kylo thought about it. “No, this is between them.”

“Sorry about before,” Hux sighed. “I was mad at Rose and took it out on you.”

“Even I have to admit the situation with Rey is pretty fucked up.”

“What are you gonna do about it?” Hux asked curiously.

Kylo shrugged. “I like her, man. I’m not pushing her away.”

“Sure, sure.”

“What are you gonna do about Rose?”

Hux scowled. “What can I do?”

“Maybe start by telling her the truth and finish by begging her to come back to you.”

“You’re one to talk. Aren’t you keeping secrets from Rey?” Hux spoke without judgment, but his words hit like a hammer.

“Why would you say that?” Kylo growled. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he’d made a mistake.

Hux smiled like a cat with the cream. “Educated guess.”

“I’m trying to protect her- and myself too.”

“Whatever, man.” Hux’s expression was curious, but he didn’t pry. “Just know that when Rey finds out the truth, you’re going to lose her. Again.”

Kylo grimaced. “How do I stop this trainwreck?”

“Tell her everything. Better it comes from you,” was Hux’s suggestion. “Or you need to make it so that Rey remains in the dark.”

Kylo ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the strands. “When did life get so fucking complicated?”

“We do get body slammed for a living,” Hux chuckled. “Simple was never part of the plan.”

Kylo realised his best friend had a point.

Complications were piling up faster than rats slithering down a drainpipe. What the hell did he do now?

Chapter Text

Despite herself, Rey was enjoying her night out.

Her hands lifted as her body absorbed the solid bass beat underlying bubbly pop music, hips swivelling in a pattern that was an invitation to a man who wasn’t there. She’d lost track of time, every song was her favourite song, and she felt free. Alive. Nothing holding her back, not even her missing past.

The only reason she was comfortable in the moment was Rose, who danced close by in a skintight purple lace minidress that had a high neck, long sleeves, and a skirt that barely covered her butt. Rey had on a baby pink vinyl miniskirt for the occasion, her one shouldered top made from slinky silver jersey material.

She normally didn’t do clubs. She didn’t have the excess cash to spend on fruity alcoholic drinks and she thought of herself as a devoted member of the café crowd. But she supposed the two needn’t be mutually exclusive.

This outing was meant to be the cherry on top of her mea culpa to Rose. She’d spent most of last night talking to her (still) best friend, revealing her story in the hopes Rose would find a way to forgive the manufactured beginnings of their friendship. It had taken a lot of vulnerability, many tears, and a chocolate run to the nearest convenience store in the wee hours of the morning, but they’d finally made up.

It seemed Hux was right all along. Rose wasn’t at the apartment complex to see Rey but to ambush her ex. In Rose’s own words, she’d be a hypocrite if she held on to her resentment against Rey when she was pulling from her own bag of tricks.

So here they were, reaffirming their status as BFFs, dancing the night away. Rose had decided she needed to get over Hux, but from the little Rey had seen she wasn’t sure Hux was over Rose either.

The club pulsed with crimson lights as another song came on and the two girls merged on the dance floor. This was life, wasn’t it? Making connections, bonding with people and places. Rey had missed so much growing up as a foster kid, being bounced from home to home, and she carried various disappointments like the layers of an onion.

It was why she couldn’t stop digging into her past, why she needed to know where she came from. She was missing the very heart of who she was. Spending time with Kylo was like being gifted a lost piece of the puzzle, but there was still so much more she wanted to know.

Rey swore she wouldn’t allow fear of the unfamiliar to keep her locked inside herself. It was why she’d pushed so hard these past few years to earn her scholarship and qualify for the physiotherapy program at Coruscant U, why she’d stalked complete strangers and bonded with Rose. Her own missing memories had become the Mount Everest she needed to conquer.

But tonight she danced, half enjoying herself, half melancholy, her thoughts a confused swirl. She was starting to question her decisions. Maybe she didn’t need to know every last detail of her past. Maybe a relationship with Kylo Ren was enough to ground her in the present. But that too was dangerous, because what if Kylo let her down? What if he wasn’t the man she thought he was?

Rose broke her reverie by taking Rey’s hands so they could spin out in a laughing circle at the crescendo of the song, finally stumbling to a stop on the edge of the dance floor. As Rose clutched her, laughing drunkenly, the melancholy remained. It was time for Rey to head home.

Home, where Kylo lived.

Home, to be with the literal man of her dreams.

It still felt inconceivable that she’d had naked playtime with her scorching hot hockey star, landlord and employer.

“Want one more?” Rose yelled over the noise of the latest song, pointing to the empty cocktail glass in Rey’s hand. “It’s my round.”

“Sure, why not? Last one.”

As Rose danced her way through the crowd and back to the bar, Rey couldn’t help but smile. She ran her eyes over a gathering composed mostly of Coruscant U students and met a pair of eyes that had her freezing in place.

The man was much older than the groups of students standing around him. Tall and well built, he wore a black leather jacket paired with a button-down shirt and slacks. Dark hair was cut military short and spiky, the club’s pulsing red lights making his eyes appear crimson. He felt strangely familiar though she couldn’t say why. There was a prominent red birthmark on his left cheekbone and, had she seen him before, that alone should have told her so.

He straightened and began pushing past people towards her, and her insides hollowed out. All of a sudden she wished she’d invited Kylo to party with her and Rose. Right now would be a good time to have a towering hockey player by her side.

The man with the red birthmark was coming closer and the layer of perspiration on her back hardened to ice.

“One mojito for my bestie,” Rose sang out, coming up on Rey’s right and pressing a drink into her hand.

Rey tacked on a tight smile, grateful when Rose steered them towards the bar to claim an empty sliver of space. The man with the birthmark disappeared in the moving crowd, and when Rey glanced in his direction once more, he was nowhere to be seen.

What the heck?

What was that about? Maybe she was being paranoid like Kylo said, seeing men in black hooded jumpers everywhere she went. Except this guy wasn’t wearing a hoodie.

“So tell me, what’s the King of the Underworld really like?” Rose’s question dragged Rey back to the real world. “I mean, hockey star Kylo and real life Kylo have to be different, right?”

“What do you mean?” Rey asked, taking a deep gulp of her drink. Her head spun and she put it down again on the bar. Definitely her last drink.

“He’s so mean looking,” Rose mock shivered. “I sat behind the bench with the medical personnel for all of the home games last season and watched Kylo rip off his helmet and shout at pretty much everyone. I don’t even know what he’s saying half the time, and I want to call my mommy.”

Rey knew she was in trouble when the description only served to make her secret places tingle. “He- he’s not what you think,” she began, unsure how to explain what she’d seen. “I may never figure him out, but he’s… he’s passionate and quick-tempered… but also… kind? Kylo has a big heart.”

“He’s smoking hot is what he is,” Rose mumbled around her pilsner. “I told Hux that once and nearly got my head bitten off for my honesty.”

Rey almost spit her drink on Rose’s shoes. “I can’t believe you did that! What boyfriend wants to hear that his girlfriend thinks his best friend is hotter than him?”

“Ex-boyfriend, thank you very much. And in my defence,” Rose giggled, “I didn’t say hotter. Kylo scares me too much to want to do the horizontal tango with him, but clearly you don’t mind hooking up with the dark lord.”

“I work for him,” Rey hedged, not sure who she was kidding.

“I know, right,” Rose stage whispered over the music. “Why does that make it even sexier?”

Rey snickered. “You’re a terrible influence, Rose.”

“I’m a perfect angel,” Rose protested, shaking her empty glass. “It’s the beer talking.”

“A likely story. Next, you’ll tell me you were once the meat in a Poe and Finn sandwich.”

Rose cackled like a cartoon witch and Rey joined her, both of them leaning against the bar for support. With her alcohol induced brain fuzz, Rey spilled the remainder of her drink, and all at once she and Rose were surrounded by half a dozen men waving white paper napkins. Which only made them laugh harder.

That was the exact moment the air changed in the club.

Rose must have felt the ripple, because she stuck out her head like a curious meerkat. “Don’t look now, but Mr Tall, Dark and Scary is coming our way.”

The words didn’t fully make sense to Rey, and she turned to stare in the same direction. It took longer for her to register what her eyes were seeing.

Kylo. Kylo was here. At a club called Dazzle of all things. Warmth flooded her veins when she realised he’d coming looking for her. But she hadn’t told him where she was. How had he found her? He must have checked Rose’s Insta account and seen the photo she posted twenty minutes ago. Wow- stalker much?

Kylo wove his way in their direction with the lethal grace of a tiger, a baseball cap pulled down low on his forehead. That didn’t stop people from turning in his wake with their mouths hanging open. His height really was impressive, and the width of his shoulders only amplified the size difference between him and everyone else in the club.

“Kylo Ren?” shouted one of the guys offering them a napkin.

“Yes,” Rose cheerfully confirmed.

By this time Kylo had reached the bar and he didn’t look happy. At all. His icy glare travelled over the cluster of men surrounding Rey and Rose, growing colder by the second. Until Rey lost her mind and squealed, “Kylo!”, throwing her arms around his neck.

The hockey player blinked a few times, metaphorical frost thawing slightly. He drew her close with one thick arm. “Home time, princess.”

“Boo,” Rose pouted across from them, making Kylo’s lips twitch in a reluctant smile.

“You too, Rose. I’ll get you home safe.” He scowled at the men in their vicinity, clearly unmoved by the hero worship they were projecting in his direction.

“Could you autograph my napkin?” a frat guy asked from behind Kylo.

“No,” he snapped without even thinking about it.

“Yes!” Rey shouted in his ear, making Kylo roll his eyes.

“Fine,” Kylo growled. “One autograph.” He grabbed the pen the guy was extending towards him. “Who shall I make it out to?”

Rey watched the transaction in fascination. Now that she’d spent time with Kylo, he’d become less of a famous person and more of a… housemate? Friend? Boyfriend?

She turned to take in the crowd gaping at Kylo, more than a little pleased that she was part of the inner circle, when she spotted him again. The man with the red birthmark.

He was staring at her with more intensity than before. The emotion on his face wasn’t anger or hatred… it was something else entirely. She couldn’t figure out what.

Emboldened by Kylo’s arrival and the gathering crowd, veins pumping more rum than blood, Rey took several steps towards Red Birthmark. The older man met her halfway.

“Who are you?” she asked, inhibitions blown by alcohol and Kylo’s star power.

Red Birthmark stared at her. “You still don’t know.”

Still?

It occurred to Rey that something very important was taking place. “What’s your name?” she tried again.

Red Birthmark glanced over her shoulder as the crowd around Kylo grew more raucous. Several seconds passed before he returned his focus to her. “Stay away from Kylo Ren. I’m warning you.”

“Wh-what?” Rey gasped.

But the man with the red birthmark was gone, moving as quickly as a criminal with the cops on his tail.

“Rey, we need to get outta here!” Rose was by her side, car keys dangling from her hand. “Kylo told me where he parked. He said he’d meet us there.”

She shakily nodded.

It was easy enough to exit the club. Everyone was too focused on the captain of the Coruscant Black Dragons who was signing autographs and taking selfies to care about a couple of drunk college girls. Rey kept her eyes open, however, nervous that Red Birthmark would make a reappearance.

The two girls eventually reached Kylo’s gleaming black vehicle and tumbled inside, Rey in the passenger seat and Rose in the back.

“Is Kylo your boyfriend?” Rose asked, gasping with the effort of pulling on her seatbelt.

“I- I don’t know,” Rey confessed.

“He’s definitely into you. No guy storms a packed club just to make sure his personal chef is doing okay.”

Rey blushed. The combination of alcohol in her system and Kylo showing up like a white knight and her run-in with Red Birthmark was making her confused. She wasn’t sure what she should be focusing on right now.

Yes, Kylo’s appearance was unexpectedly romantic, but it was also possessive in a way that made no sense. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to be possessed.

Oh, who are you kidding? You’d drop your panties if the man so much as winked in your direction.

The driver’s side door of the vehicle was wrenched open and Kylo got in, his expression irritated. “The bouncers kept the crowd in the bar while I made my escape,” he explained. “I owe those guys a massive tip.”

“I’m sure the owners are happy you showed up,” Rose giggled from the backseat. “Dazzle will forever be known as a club frequented by the King of the Underworld and preferred by the Black Dragons.”

Kylo ran his eyes over Rey, checking to make sure she was unharmed. “You okay, princess?”

Rey melted into a puddle of goo. This man… no one had ever looked after her the way he did. Which was when another voice interrupted her reverie. The grim memory of an older guy in a black leather jacket with a prominent red birthmark.

Stay away from Kylo Ren. I’m warning you.

Chapter Text

Rey hadn’t been the same since the night Kylo had gone looking for her, and he wasn’t sure why. He may have crossed a line tracking Rose’s social media account and showing up at the club to pick them up, but he wasn’t about to leave his princess drunk and vulnerable looking for a cab on the darkened streets of Coruscant.

As soon as Rose had tagged their location, he’d sped towards Dazzle like a Formula One racer, arriving ready to do battle against the monsters on his princess’ behalf. Instead he’d seen Rey glowing with happiness and sparkling like a mirror ball, slumped against the bar with Rose by her side, surrounded by a cluster of men who were trying to get their attention. She’d looked incredible in her teeny tiny pink miniskirt and a silver top which left no doubt that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Just like that, he knew he wanted her home so he could slide his hands all over her lithe body.

It was undeniably amusing to find Rey toasted, teetering towards him on sequinned heels. Not sloppy drunk, just bright-eyed with her lipstick smudged drunk. She was gorgeous. His princess was the most beautiful woman in the world, and he’d never forgive himself for not looking for her before she found him.

The ride home was incredibly frustrating since drunk Rey was also horny Rey. She kept checking him out from the passenger seat, blatantly and openly, her hazel gaze carving a path from his chest to his biceps, down to his thighs and, yeah, right at his crotch. She didn’t even seem to realise she was doing it.

Kylo decided he liked drunk Rey very much. Unfortunately, he had to drop Rose home first.

As soon as the barrier of her best friend was gone Kylo realised Rey had, in fact, been holding back. Because that was when she started talking.

“Hey,” she giggled, leaning towards him from the passenger seat.

He couldn’t hide his responding grin. “Hey back.”

“I, uh, just wanted to tell you… thanks for coming to get me,” she said, all husky and warm, making his abdomen tighten up like no girl had done before.

“You’re welcome, princess.”

With that, she got mad. “I’m not a princess.”

“You are to me.”

“Ugh,” she pouted. “Orphans and foster kids don’t get to be pricessesessess…” She gave up on the plural of the word, fell silent, then visibly shook herself back to alertness. “I’m not drunk.”

He battled a smile. “If you say so.”

“We’re not all you, Kylo,” she spluttered, waving her hands dramatically in front of his face. “We’re not all built like- like- Godzilla.”

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You know,” another hand wave, “a million feet tall and as broad as a truck and scary imposing with a scar that makes you look like a pirate.”

“Which is it? Am I Captain Hook or a kaiju?”

Rey slumped over dramatically, her hand falling on Kylo’s thigh, making the muscles contract. “You’re not listening,” she whined.

“I have news for you, princess, that’s all I’m doing.”

She huffed, rubbing his denim clad thigh with her soft hand as if massaging dough. He pressed on the gas, deciding it was safer to get home as soon as possible, even if it meant a speeding ticket.

“I’m not nervous around you anymore,” she confessed.

Kylo turned her statement over in his head a dozen times. “You’re not?”

Rey leant close once more and the hand that was on his thigh was now planted against his flat belly. “Not in a bad way.”

“There’s a good way to make someone nervous?”

“You’re my Shadow Daddy.”

“Say what now?” Kylo’s eyebrows shot to his hairline.

“You know, a Shadow Daddy. One of those dark, brooding guys who wear cloaks and are kinda evil but with tortured backgrounds and really amazing abs. They exist in stories with lightsabers or dragons.”

“Well, now, I could be your daddy.”

“Nooooo,” Rey moaned. “Why’d you have to make it gross?” Her shoulders drooped and she squeezed her eyes closed. “I’m going to regret every second of this conversation in the morning.”

He snickered.

Kylo was close to combusting by the time he carried Rey back inside his penthouse. He didn’t have the strength of will to be romantic, so he tore the clothes off her body and draped her over his couch with her legs in the splits. She clutched his hair painfully tight while he ate out her sopping wet pussy, making her sob and scream as she climaxed all over his face. He then wrapped his hand around his steel erection and stroked himself to orgasm, spraying her perfect tits with sticky pearlescent ropes of come, a beast marking its prey.

As he tucked her into bed, she mumbled, “Night night daddy,” and was snoring in seconds.

The next day, Kylo expected to find Rey a little sheepish and a lot hungover, but she was more withdrawn than that. Something was wrong. His princess was never cold, not since the day he’d met her.

He wondered if their new relationship had progressed too quickly. If the amazing sex was too much too soon for his less experienced lover. But he couldn’t be sure because Rey wasn’t talking. No matter how much he teased and cajoled, she either kept her lips sealed or avoided him entirely. It caused a panicked sensation in his chest.

Surely her memories hadn’t returned already. Surely.

Not knowing what else to do, he backed right the hell off from Rey.

He wasn’t sure she’d turn up to his first game back in Coruscant Arena three days later, but she did, and what he saw made his heart flip. Rey sat rinkside dressed in a Kylo Ren jersey- a custom hot pink bedazzled Ren jersey- her shiny hair in twin ponytails with fluffy pink pompoms. Her snug blue jeans were the only thing remotely normal about her outfit. She looked both ridiculous and amazing.

The Black Dragons won their game 2-1. It was brutal, but Kylo was fighting fit once more and that was all that mattered. That and the pretty little princess watching him from the stands, screaming at the ref like a crazy person alongside thousands of other enthusiastic hockey fans.

Once the game ended, his typical need for recovery and refuelling felt like a burden rather than the easy discipline it had become over the years. His body was a machine that kept him playing the sport he loved, but the usual cool-downs, cold tubs, stretching and massages were now a barrier to him reuniting with Rey.

On top of that, his back injury meant Coach Yoda was on his case, making sure Kylo had special protocols in place for injury assessment. After which he was led to the media room for a series of interviews, because that was what a captain did for his team. He showed up and represented.

Kylo struggled to focus on the task at hand. This was his dream job, but he had to remind himself of the fact when all he wanted was to be with Rey. Hell, she slept under his roof, but her continued avoidance had him worried. Seeing her wear his name in sparkly pink was just the reassurance he’d needed.

He wanted to capitalise on the atmosphere at the arena, but Rey would probably be asleep- or pretending to be- by the time he reached home.

Sure enough, the penthouse was completely silent when he walked through the front door. Kylo scowled in disappointment.

The shimmering city skyline was his only light as he continued to his room, but the intercom chimed before he could reach it.

He tapped the panel on the wall closest to him. “Yeah?” Discontent had reduced his usual adrenaline rush of victory to a grumpy buzz.

“Ms Ko Connix is here to see you, sir.”

Kylo closed his eyes in annoyance. “Fuck.” The front desk had a list of people allowed to interrupt his peace and quiet, and Kaydel was one of them.

“Sir?”

“Send her up.”

He’d ignored the platinum blonde journalist for too long, and now was as good a time as any to deal with her.

Kaydel stormed his home with the angry energy of a whirlwind, hair professionally blown and teased, silken blonde waves framing a flawlessly made-up face, lips a deep matte magenta that matched her silk cocktail dress. It was the perfect outfit for a television appearance, both sexy and conservative, the fabric fitting snug against the shape of impressive breasts without a hint of cleavage. Gloss black three-inch heels completed the sexily demure image.

“Where the hell have you been, Kylo?” she yelled as soon as she saw him.

“Shut up,” he snapped. “You’ll wake Rey.” Something else occurred to him. Maybe Rey had headed out to party with friends after the game. Was that why it was so quiet? Was his princess in some college bar boozing it up with Rose and looking for another guy to screw?

“You’re not even listening to me,” Kaydel said, arms folded across her chest as she glowered at him. “You’re a million miles away.”

He sighed, stomping on the urge to check Rey’s bedroom. “Want something to drink?”

Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the bar and began mixing the white Russian that was Kaydel’s cocktail of choice. He never touched alcohol himself and grabbed a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge for something to drink.

Kaydel took the finished cocktail from his hand and drained half its contents in one gulp. “You promised, Kylo.” She sounded wounded, eyes shiny with tears. Only he ever saw this side to ball buster Kaydel Ko Connix.

“I wasn’t avoiding you, Kay. It’s been a crazy few weeks.”

“You’re talking about Rey.” When he didn’t reply, Kaydel kept pushing for answers. “What’s going on between you two? Don’t tell me it’s love at first sight. I won’t believe it.”

Kylo decided to fight fire with fire. “Who’s asking, Kay? Is this a conversation or an interview?”

She scowled. “Don’t do that. You know I can keep secrets better than anyone. Don’t you trust me anymore?”

“Rey’s not your concern,” Kylo growled.

“She is when she gets in the way of me and you.” Kaydel tossed back the rest of her drink before setting down the glass. She walked up to Kylo with all the sultry confidence of a former pageant contestant, a woman who’d been in Coruscant Times' list of the top ten most beautiful people three times running. Stroking blood red nails down the front of his black sweater, she cooed, “What’s Rey got that I don’t have, hmm?”

A flicker of movement out the corner of his eye was Kylo’s only warning before Rey appeared. Dressed in a silky pink tank top and pink boxers, hair all mussed from lying in bed, Rey let out an inhuman shriek as she launched herself at Kaydel.

Kylo was too shocked to react.

The two girls fell to the floor screaming like banshees, Rey pummelling Kaydel’s body with little fists and Kaydel grabbing Rey’s hair.

“Stay away from him, you bitch!” The emotion that deepened his princess’ voice was pure rage.

“What the hell? Get off me, you psycho!”

“Kylo’s mine, do you hear me? Mine, mine, MINE!”

They rolled into the mahogany wall of the bar, making hundreds of bottles rattle ominously.

“Ow, watch it! That’s gonna bruise,” Kaydel hissed. “You might be happy walking around looking like a prize fighter, but I make my living on television.”

“You’re nothing but a vain peacock,” Rey snarled. “What does he see in you?”

“I know him better than you ever will. D’you really think Kylo’s gonna let a slutty co-ed replace me?”

Rey gave a short scream before straddling the blonde woman and pinning her to the ground. She reached through a gap in the wood partition and grabbed the neck of a top tier twenty-five-year-old single malt. Raising the amber bottle of Glenmorangie like a hammer, she took aim.

Kylo got there just in time, hockey reflexes finally kicking in. “What the fuck,” he grunted, grabbing Rey’s wrist and quickly removing the bottle from her grasp. He picked her up bodily, hauling her kicking and screaming to the opposite end of the living room.

“Calm down,” he snapped, wrapping his arms around her torso to hold her still. How did someone so delicate have so much fury inside her?

You know where she gets it from.

No, she’s not like her family. Rey is different.

Keep telling yourself that.

Desperate to get away, Rey scratched his neck like a she-cat in heat. In the general scheme of things and considering the fights he regularly started and finished on the ice, it wasn’t much of a blow, but it still stung like a motherfucker. Blood began dripping down his neck, and apparently it was just what Rey needed to snap out of it.

She stopped struggling, going limp inside his arms. Big hazel eyes fixated on the wound she’d caused and her lips started to tremble. When she spoke, however, it wasn’t to apologise.

“You promised,” she said in a strained voice. “You said we’d be exclusive.”

He was so taken aback that he released her. “You don’t understand, princess.”

“Everyone knows Kaydel’s got some weird obsession with you,” Rey said. “There’ve been rumours for years you two were screwing each other. Do you realise she’s done more interviews with you than any other journalist? Why does she get special access to the King of the Underworld?”

Kylo struggled to answer. “We encouraged the rumours because it suited our purpose. Doesn’t mean it’s true.”

“The hell it’s not. What’s she doing in your apartment in the middle of the night?”

“Like he said, you don’t get it,” Kaydel mumbled. The blonde was back on her feet and gingerly touching the side of her face. “Your new girlfriend’s certifiable, Kylo. I’d drop her like a hot potato if I were you.”

He bared his teeth. “My personal life is none of your business.”

“Maybe it is my business. Maybe I get a say when someone I love makes stupid decisions.”

Kylo scowled at Kaydel as Rey shrank inside herself. He understood exactly what the blonde was doing. She was forcing the issue.

He always knew his many secrets would cause an irreparable breach in his relationship with Rey- he just didn’t expect it to be this one.

“I’ll be gone by the morning,” Rey said in the silence that followed.

“Excuse me?” Kylo growled.

“Maybe you can live like this, messing around with multiple women at a time, but I don’t have the emotional bandwidth for your bullshit.”

“What about your past? Don’t you want to know what happened?”

She stared at him in disbelief. “I guess that’s the difference between us. You’re more important to me than some unknown history.”

His heart wrenched painfully. “That’s not fair, Rey.”

Trembling lips firmed into a straight line. “Goodbye, Kylo.”

She turned to leave, but he called out, “Princess… wait.”

Rey paused, and he heard Kaydel suck in an anticipatory breath.

“Kay isn’t my lover.”

A single tear slipped down Rey’s cheek. “No more lies, Kylo.”

“The truth is… she’s my sister.”

Chapter Text

Rey’s jaw dropped open. Kaydel Ko Connix, voluptuous golden blonde vixen, was sister to the dark and deadly Kylo Ren? What the hell? Was this what Mary Poppins meant when she talked about the world being topsy turvy- up was down and right was wrong?

“Surprise!” Kaydel sang out like a soprano at the opera. She looked so pleased over Kylo spilling the beans that it occurred to Rey she might not be the only one desperate for family.

It was turning out to be a wild week.

Rey knew she was treating Kylo badly in the aftermath of Red Birthmark’s warning. The menacing stranger’s words echoed in her head, a ringing bell that could never be un-rung.

Stay away from Kylo Ren. I’m warning you.

She was going crazy trying to place the older man. He’d indicated she knew him, but her memories refused to cooperate. And then there was the warning itself. If she didn’t heed his words, would he hurt her… or Kylo? She couldn’t allow that. Even though Kylo was a big bad hockey star, twice her size with three times as many muscles, she’d throw herself into the firing line before she saw him hurt.

It never occurred to her that the truth of her past could place the man she loved in danger. She started avoiding Kylo because what else was there to do? Yep, that was her- still playing hide and seek with life.

Kylo noticed her evasion and drew his own conclusions, taking a confused step back, giving her space to breathe. But it had been three days, and she could tell he was already growing impatient. She had to make up her mind about what to do next before he grilled her about her new attitude.

The Black Dragons home game was just the distraction they both needed.

Rey was thrilled to finally attend a live game at Coruscant Arena. She'd fished out the bedazzled pink Ren jersey she’d made in her high school design class to commemorate the event.

The energy of the crowd was insane. Coruscanti folk didn’t do anything by halves, and every Black Dragons game felt like a matter of life and death. The ticket Kylo left for her was in the front row, and she sat amidst fans holding loaded chilli dogs and giant beers, every one in black and red jerseys.

Nervous somersaults were happening in her tummy, and she wondered if it was because the last time she’d had a meaningful interaction with Kylo he’d been on his knees with his head buried between her thighs. Her cheeks flamed just thinking about it. Kylo was a giver.

Fortunately, he’d been busy preparing for his comeback game so she hadn’t seen much of him, most of his waking hours spent in team meetings, doing press, and practicing. Rey split her time between college classes and meal prep, her worry about Red Birthmark’s words an annoying buzz that refused to go away.

Game time snuck up on her. She’d never forget the moment she took her seat a few feet away from plexiglass. Minutes later the lights went out and a stylised dragon was projected onto the ice in red lights, moving in a swirl pattern. An announcer’s voice swept in and sent the crowd into a frenzy, feet stomping on concrete, voices chanting dra-gons, dra-gons, dra-gons. The referees took to the ice first, and then the opposition team to the boos of the crowd.

“And now, introducing Coruscant’s own Blaaaaack Dragons…” the announcer hollered.

She shivered with anticipation rather than the cold as the first few Black Dragon players were introduced, including Armitage Hux who received thunderous applause. Although… was it her imagination or was the redhead continually glancing towards the personnel section that contained a certain physio-in-training?

“Last but not least, Black Dragon family… you know him as the Curse of Coruscant, the Assassin of the Arena. Make some noise for number forty-six, captain of the team and the King of the Underworld himself, Kylooooo Ren.”

Something strange happened inside Rey when Kylo skated out onto the ice in pads, looking decidedly gigantic and irritable despite the rafters shaking on his behalf. Something very strange indeed.

Yes, she’d seen Kylo play hockey on television and online, but seeing it happen in person made her forget about a strange man’s words. She forgot she only had half her memories intact. Forgot that she was an orphan and alone. Because her heart was pounding and her hands were sweating and her pussy was thrumming like a well-oiled machine. Very well-oiled.

Hoo boy. He looked… hmmm.

Heroic?

Dangerous?

Sexy.

Yep, Kylo looked really, really hot. It made no sense, honestly. He was covered in padding, lips protruding slightly due to his mouthpiece. He’d looked good before, and yet, hooooo boy. There was something about the whole athletic package that stunned the senses. The jersey, the scowl, the way he skated as easily as he walked, unaffected by the hero worship being directed at him. Utterly nonchalant.

For some reason, every sexually charged moment between them was cascading through Rey’s mind right that second. Recent memories were showing up in high resolution colour, so much so she wondered if anyone else could see them. His mouth that had kissed her… all over. Those shoulders, wide and rippling. And his hands- his big, capable hands. Hands that had picked her up and held her and bent her over and spread her thighs. Manly hands.

She didn’t feel the cold of the arena anymore even though her nipples remained as hard as rubies.

The arena lights blasted back on interrupting her erotic daydreaming and the Black Dragons began skating in loose formation, separating into a warmup. It was troubling that despite the entire squad being out there, she could barely take her attention off Kylo for a second. He was a total snack. Did everyone know this? He made balancing his weight on blades look effortless… and why was he coming towards her?

She was dreaming, right?

Nope. There he was. Right in front of her, rapping the end of his stick against the glass, looking hot and intimidating and famous. The fans sitting around her choked on their tongues rushing to get their camera apps open.

Rey couldn’t help it, she giggled and waved. Kylo made her so happy just by existing. She received a gloved wave in return, and he pinned her with a wicked smile.

Nice jersey, he mouthed at her.

Thanks, she grinned back.

Fans were going out of their minds, tripping over themselves to converge on the section. Suddenly, Rey was looking at his broad back because he was skating away, leaving her with a view of the name Ren stitched on the flipside of his jersey.

And just like that she made up her mind, because there was no way she’d ever willingly leave Kylo behind. He was her ride and die. They could face the danger together.

Out on the ice, the Black Dragons were poised to begin, the volume of the crowd rising to an ear-splitting level as the referee dropped the puck. Within seconds, giant bodies were crashing up against glass, the puck moving in a black blur from end to end and back again. Kylo’s reflexes were swift and exact, every one of them with purpose. He was both solid, immovable, and really fast, able to block the path to the goal and cut through a sea of opponents to slap the puck back towards the opposite end.

Poe Dameron bashed up against glass. A shrill whistle rent the air. Rey lunged from her seat as if possessed, slamming her fist into the glass where the referee was trying to separate Kylo from an opponent. “Boarding?” she shrieked. “Find a new job, ref!”

It was a good thing they won.

Once it was all over, Kylo would be busy with his post-game routine and Rose was caught up with physio duties, so Rey headed home. She was looking forward to greeting her conquering hero as he walked into the apartment and hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but she awoke to the sound of voices.

Seeing Kylo standing in the living room with a beautiful blonde pawing at his chest flipped a switch inside of her. A near uncontrollable rage took over. She barely remembered the things she’d screamed at Kaydel.

Mine.

But now she knew. The blonde journalist was actually Kylo’s sister.

“Okay… how?”

Kylo groaned and Kaydel snickered.

Irritation sparked inside Rey that another female, even one who wasn’t romantically involved with Kylo, shared secrets with him. What a cow.

“What I tell you can’t leave this apartment,” Kylo said, placing his hands on Rey’s shoulders and turning her around to face him, so that she wasn’t glaring at Kaydel anymore.

“Of course,” Rey replied snippily.

“I mean it. Rose cannot find out.”

Rey crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Kylo instead of Kaydel.

“Okay, fine,” he muttered. “Here’s the deal. Kay is my half-sister. My mom had a fling in college, fell pregnant, and chose to have the baby adopted out. My grandfather made sure it was all done hush hush, so no one knew the truth, not even me. And then eighteen years later, once she was old enough to gain access to her adoption records, Kaydel turned up wanting to meet her biological family.”

“Seriously? Is that all?” Rey asked in disbelief.

Kaydel laughed, but the sound was without humour. The clinking of a bottle told Rey the other woman was fixing herself a drink in the background.

“The problem is,” Kylo continued, shooting Kaydel a concerned frown over Rey’s shoulder, “something like this would destroy my mother’s political career.”

“Or so she says. Who cares about your flesh and blood daughter when you’re trying to win the White House in five years, am I right?”

Rey turned to look at Kaydel who stood scowling with a martini glass in hand. “Did you…” she hesitated. “I mean, have you spent time with Senator Organa? Talked to her?”

“She’s a cold fish, our mother,” Kaydel answered with studied nonchalance. “Too busy with her work to pay attention to me. Anakin Skywalker was openly hostile when I first appeared, afraid for the precious Skywalker legacy and what I might do to ruin it, but at least he didn’t try to stop me from connecting with Leia. Strangely enough, Kylo’s dad Han Solo has been the most welcoming.”

“Hey!” Kylo protested.

The beautiful blonde softened. “You’ve been a pretty great brother too.” She gulped her drink. “I probably wouldn’t have my career without all those exclusive interviews with Kylo ‘the King of the Underworld’ Ren.”

“You earned your journalistic credentials fair and square,” Kylo said. “Your ability to hustle comes from mom.”

Kaydel grimaced but she didn’t argue the comparison. “Now that’s all cleared up, back to my original question. What’s going on between you and Rey?”

This time it was Rey’s turn to exchange glances with Kylo. “We, um, like hanging out with each other.”

“Oh, please. Who are you two kidding?” Kaydel countered. “Your connection was instantaneous. I felt sparks that first day in the arena tunnel- we all did.”

“We’re still trying to work out what we mean to each other,” Kylo hedged.

Kaydel snickered. “I think Rey’s pretty clear on how she feels about you. I mean, she tried to brain me with a whiskey bottle for taking advantage of her man.”

Kylo crossed the living room and tugged the martini glass from Kaydel’s manicured fingers. “Alright, that’s it. Time for you to go home.”

To Rey’s surprise, the blonde capitulated. “Fine. I have to get up early for an appearance on the network’s morning breakfast show anyway.” She pressed a lingering kiss on Kylo’s cheek, wiggled her fingers goodbye at Rey, and floated out on a cloud of Chanel perfume.

As soon as his front door slid shut, Kylo tapped the intercom to instruct the building concierge to book a taxi for Ms Ko Connix.

“She leaves an impression,” Rey said once Kylo had done his due diligence.

“That she does,” he murmured.

There was a brief silence that Rey chose to break. “Kaydel’s right. It’s not okay that I tried to bludgeon her.”

“Princess…”

“No, Kylo,” she said, wrapping slim arms around herself. “I’ve never lost control like that before. I was ready to bash in her brains.”

He grimaced. “This is why I’ve held back about your past. I don’t want to accidentally trigger you.”

She knew what he was saying, but it was hard to hear. “This rage isn’t me, Kylo. Foster kids, kids who’ve been abused, we either act out or we conform. I’ve always preferred conformity, to remain under the radar.”

“So what’s changed?” he asked, coming so close she had to tilt her chin to meet his gaze.

“You,” she whispered. “Ever since we met, it’s like I don’t know who I am anymore.”

A smile flirted across his lips. “Are you saying I drive you crazy?”

Rey punched Kylo lightly on his chest and immediately regretted it. His body was made from malleable steel and felt amazing.

He noticed her noticing. “Is that why you’ve been avoiding me all week?”

She supposed she could pretend she’d been busy with school, but she was tired of secrets. “No.”

“Then what’s going on?”

Grabbing Kylo by the hand, Rey started walking to his room. “It occurs to me we haven’t celebrated your win.”

“How d’you propose we do that?” he drawled, allowing himself to be pulled along.

“If it’s okay by you, I have this fantasy of my body being wrecked on your palatial bed.”

There was a brief silence followed by Kylo clearing his throat. "Ehrm, sure, I can do that."

Rey shot him a happy smile, a sudden surplus of dopamine in her system thanks to Kylo's proximity. She was about to get some.

Chapter Text

“I know what you’re doing, princess,” Kylo said in a velvety smooth voice. “You’re trying to distract me from what’s really going on, and damn if it isn’t working.”

A hot blush scalded Rey’s cheeks but she wasn’t too shy to deny the pent-up arousal inside her body.

She’d told Kylo that she wasn’t the girl who lost control and turned violent, and it was true. The same went for her love life. She was never impulsive, never overtly passionate, choosing to remain a virgin through logic and caution. The few times she showed interest in a guy, she overthought the situation until reality couldn’t live up to her expectations and she’d ended up pulling the plug on non-existent relationships.

And then along came Kylo.

Now she was dragging her hunky hockey player to a bed big enough to handle an entire cheerleading team, wanting to him to do some very dirty things to her body but still unsure what that might mean.

The bed didn’t disappoint. It looked just as gorgeous as the first time around; miles of oil slick black sheets on a mattress fit for a king surrounded by a polished wooden frame.

Kylo turned the lights down low, bathing them in a warm glow before turning down the thermostat. “I want your nipples hard,” was all he said before picking up Rey and throwing her onto the mattress. He joined her with cat-like speed that made her breathless, pinning her to the sheets before she could orient herself.

He grabbed her by tumbled hair and guided her lips to his, kissing her with ruthless abandon. When he ended the embrace, he’d rolled her over. And now he was the one sprawled on smooth black sheets and she was perched atop him.

“Oh, my,” was all she could say, looking down at a very satisfied male.

Rey wondered how many women had seen him like this and tried to ignore the stab of jealousy that threatened to fracture her euphoria.

“What just happened?” Kylo demanded.

“What d’you mean?”

He scowled. “Who’s in bed with us, princess?”

She was taken aback by his prescience. “I- I was just wondering how many other girls have been here before me.”

He dragged his teeth over his lower lip before answering carefully. “I’m not going to lie to you, princess. Women throw themselves at me all the time. I’m a rich, successful athlete, and it’s an unbeatable trifecta.”

“Great,” she mumbled, feeling more vulnerable than ever. The women he’d slept with probably had degrees in giving orgasms. How was she supposed to compete?

“Look at me.” He reached up and gripped her by the chin. “You’re the first woman I’ve had in my bedroom.”

She froze. “What? Why? How?”

“I only hook up with someone if I can go back to their place or book a hotel room. It keeps the encounters safe… anonymous. Besides…” He drew a breath. “I never met anyone I wanted to bring home.”

Her heart swelled like a helium balloon and she immediately tried to make light of his admission. “So what’s the deal with your huge-ass bed?”

“Have you seen me? I’m sick and tired of furniture that barely fits my body.”

“Oh.” Rey bent over to kiss Kylo on the lips, her hair framing his face. She found herself confessing, “It’s nice to know I’m your first… because you’re my first too.”

He stiffened beneath her, and it wasn’t just his cock. “What does that mean?”

She made herself look him in the eye. “I’m a virgin.”

The grip he had on her hips tightened until she knew he was going to leave bruises. “No fucking way.”

“It’s the truth,” she said, blushing all over again.

Kylo looked stunned. “But you’re a total firecracker.”

“Only with you,” Rey murmured, stroking her hand down the collared black shirt he’d worn for his post-game interviews. “With everyone else I’m an ice sculpture.”

“This is insane,” he said, almost to himself. “You’re insane, princess.”

Her stomach did a somersault. “Do you really think I’m crazy?” She was starting to believe it was true.

“You’re a total freak,” he said. “But so am I, and I want every drop of you smeared all over me.”

Her breath hitched, pulse skittering out of control. Kylo was under her skin, and it was going to take a knife to cut him out.

She reached for him again and then they were making out, hands seeking and clutching and exploring while his tongue swept deep inside her mouth, turning her delirious. His fingers tugged at her silky pink tank top, pulling it off over her head, sliding short shorts all the way down her legs. Buttons went flying when he ripped off his shirt and she tried to help with his belt but suspected she was only getting in the way. Soon, they were both naked and she was legitimately losing her mind.

“I want sex,” she gasped, needing to be clear. “Please don’t hold back because I said I’m a virgin.”

He chuckled like the bad guy in a movie. “I don’t know how to go easy, princess. I’m gonna fuck you until your thighs turn to rubber.”

“Don’t,” she mumbled, unsure what she was saying. “Don’t go easy. I’m on the pill, Kylo. I want your dick raw.”

He choked. “Fuck, princess. You asking to be my personal whore?”

“Yes, please,” she moaned. And then because she had some self-respect left, “Only yours though.”

“Only mine,” he agreed.

Rey took a breath to admire the naked hockey player beneath her. Kylo was beyond beautiful, the scar that bisected his face further emphasizing the flawless perfection of steel cut abs and meaty pecs, lean hips and ripped thighs. Even though she was seated atop him, it still felt like he loomed over her, his presence overwhelming.

“I’m never going to be soft and sweet in bed. I’m gonna fuck you and hurt you and you’re going to love every second of it.”

Wisdom told her this was a twisted promise to make, but all she could respond with was, “O-okay.”

He dragged her up his body until she straddled his chest, grabbed her by the arms and pulled her down to him. She squeaked as soon as he closed his wet mouth around her right nipple and suctioned. His tongue provided friction, and his fingers pinched the other bud. Her legs jerked and her back arched, but he continued to use his mouth on her breasts, lapping and biting, hard then soft, making her pussy grow hot and slick and agitated.

“Kylo.” He knew exactly what he was doing to her since there seemed to be some kind of invisible cord that travelled from her nipples to her swelling clit, humming and vibrating as he continued to tease and tug and suck.

And then he was manhandling her once more, pulling her even higher along his body so that she straddled the breadth of bulky shoulders. Her brain whited out when he grabbed two rough handfuls of her bare ass and dragged her wet pink pussy onto his open mouth.

“Kylo!” Rey shouted his name as he tasted her flesh, grinding her aching pussy right there on his stiff tongue.

She’d never been this wet, this sensitive. Her hips writhed in desperation and from her throat came unashamedly kittenish mewls as the wild urgency to climax washed over her. He consumed her with his tongue, pushing it as deep as it could go, and her thighs melting like butter on a hot summer’s day. And then while his magical tongue drove in and out, in and out of her clasping pussy, he worried her rear entrance with a finger.

She squeezed his head so hard with her thighs that she would have been worried about crushing him had he been anyone else but the King of the Underworld. Kylo Ren was built for her pleasure, and when the orgasms hit, Rey could only sob with their intensity, the muscles in her quim tightening and releasing, her bliss cresting and dipping over and over. By the end, she was seeing double, limbs trembling and tanned skin shiny with sweat.

Before she could regain her balance, he flipped her over once more so she was pinned helplessly to his bed with his big body. He thrust deep inside her without warning, tearing at the veil of her virginity, not even pausing to take her measure but fucking her hard and dirty.

Kylo was so big it hurt, his long, thick cock causing a deep down ache in her snug little pussy. He didn’t finish fast either. No, he went on and on. He pumped and pounded like he was attempting to rearrange her insides, engraving himself on her skin so he was the only one she could see or taste or touch.

It worked, her senses overwhelmed by his woodsy cologne and spiced musk, the low growls he made as he drove his cock deep inside her over and over again. Sex with Kylo was both pleasure and punishment, making her wild with need. She wondered where his anger came from, the rage that powered his hips and thighs and swollen cock.

He was owning her body and soul, and she had no way to stop him. All she could do was ride it out, let him claim her completely, her mind afloat on a hazy cloud while her body was rudely and utterly consumed.

It was the most freeing sensation she’d ever experienced, and she didn’t want it to end. Was this what she’d been waiting for her whole life? Was he the man of her dreams in more ways than one?

“Kylo…” She spoke his name like a wish that had come true.

“Don’t you fucking come,” he grunted, biting her soft earlobe and making her shriek. “Not again. Not yet. I want you thinking of this moment for the rest of your life, princess. Me fucking owning you. I won’t let you run from me after this.”

She knew it, knew her avoidant behaviour had infuriated him. Her nails dug into his back as she gasped for air and held on for dear life, his cock invading, thrusting, nailing her pussy and taking her higher.

And then she was falling, falling, falling so deep she knew she’d never recover. Falling into an abyss that was all Kylo.

He wasn’t finished with her, not even close. His body was shiny with sweat, his lips drawn back with effort, hips hammering over and over until she could taste his cock in her throat. He fucked her like he’d never stop, as if he’d never run out of strength.

She’d never been this aroused in her life. Never knew what it was to be so sexually charged she could pop off at any second.

And then he reached between their slippery bodies and pinched the swollen bud of her clit. “Come apart for me, princess,” he commanded.

She screamed and sobbed and shattered into a million pieces, almost blacking out from pleasure. He orgasmed at the exact same time, driving so deep inside her body that she worried they might never be able to separate.

“Mine,” Kylo husked in her ear as they shuddered in mutual release.

“Yours,” Rey whimpered in acknowledgement. She was his. Utterly and completely.

For the first time in her life, she knew what it was to be owned by another, and she never wanted the feeling to end.

Chapter Text

They fell asleep immediately afterwards, Rey’s head pillowed on Kylo’s right pec, his beefy arms wrapped around her narrow shoulders, one brawny leg thrown over her hip as if to make sure she stayed in place.

Considering he’d never wanted a woman in his bed before, he was being decidedly possessive with this one.

“No… no, please… please…”

Kylo awoke to the cries of the young woman in his arms. For a confused second, he looked around expecting to see an assailant, but there was no one.

Rey squirmed against him, eyes rapidly flicking beneath closed lids. She was in the throes of a nightmare, breath coming fast, mumbled pleas laced with terror.

“No… help me… pappy, help…”

“Rey, princess,” he husked, gently shaking her. It wasn’t even a question whether it was safe to do so, he couldn’t leave her consumed by fear.

She awoke with a start and he made himself loosen his grip, not wanting Rey to feel trapped in her confusion. Her pupils were dilated and her upper lip beaded with sweat. It took a long moment before she acknowledged his presence but as soon as she did, she dove back into his embrace, burying her face in his neck.

Kylo held tight to her shivering form, his hand stroking the back of her sweat soaked head. “It’s okay, princess,” he murmured. “You’re safe. I’m here.”

He didn’t realise she was crying until he felt moisture drip onto skin. When at last she lifted her head, her eyes were red rimmed and her nose blotchy.

“Was it the same nightmare from before?” he spoke quietly.

She shook her head, mute in her misery.

“Something different.” His concern deepened. “A new memory?”

She tried to explain, her words halting. “You know the basement… where I found you… in my dream? I- I always had a sense that I wasn’t allowed to be there. Something bad would happen if I went inside. I’d be breaking the rules, and what happened next would be my fault because I was naughty.”

He waited for her to go on, not wanting to interrupt her flow.

“I remember thinking… I’d been hurt by someone in that basement, but I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. It upset pappy- my grandfather- when I brought it up. He told me I’d be safe if I just stayed away from the darkness.”

Kylo’s jaw clenched hard enough to hurt.

“I think… no, I know I’m starting to remember the moment when I was hurt. Not the time you were being kept in the basement, but an incident from before.”

“What did you see?” Kylo asked, his voice gravelly from more than just sleep.

“There was a monster in the shadows,” she whispered. “I was watching him behind the door, but he saw me and came after me. I ran and fell. Black gloved hands wrapped around my throat. I screamed when he started to squeeze. And then… there was nothing.”

“Who was the monster, Rey?” Kylo asked urgently. “Did you recognise his face?”

She frowned. “You used my name. You called me Rey.”

“So?”

“You always call me princess.”

He blinked. She was right, he almost always did.

“Are you upset with me, Kylo?”

He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, unsure what to do about this damaged young woman who saw him more clearly than anyone else. “Of course not. I’m just worried about you.”

Her chin quivered. “You’re hiding something.”

“I’m hiding everything.” The words tumbled out so unexpectedly that they startled him. He sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard and lifting her onto his lap.

“What do you mean?” Rey sounded nervous, and he couldn’t blame her.

He considered the things he’d already told her and what was left unsaid. “Kylo Ren was birthed in blood and pain. I am who I am because of our shared past. Talking about it can be…” He grimaced. “Triggering.”

She touched a finger to his face, tracing his scar from start to finish, forehead to shoulder blade. “I’m sorry for what you went through.”

“I know, princess.” He gave her a whimsical smile. “Sometimes I wonder what I would’ve been like if I’d never been kidnapped, but it doesn’t matter. The reality is Ben Solo no longer exists.”

“We must kill the past, is that it?” Rey asked, echoing the words of a childhood psychiatrist.

“My past makes me who I am,” Kylo disagreed. “You asked me once why I still had my facial scar. Mom was desperate I get rid of it, but I refused plastic surgery. I couldn’t do it, erase the mark on my face like it was nothing. I needed it as a- a memorial of sorts. A signpost. Not for anyone else, but for me.”

“I understand,” Rey solemnly spoke. “I choose to wear pink because the little girl I used to be loved pink. It’s stupid, but it makes me feel connected to my past.”

“It’s not stupid at all,” he replied, squeezing her hip. “Do you know why I was in pain after my physio session the other day? I refuse to take any kind of painkillers because ten years ago I was so heavily drugged by my kidnapper I nearly died. I went missing for forty-eight hours and spent half that time unconscious. The thought of my own helplessness still makes my skin crawl.”

She clutched his forearm, hazel eyes shimmering with tears. “You’re not helpless anymore.”

“You don’t get it, princess. I might be a six foot four pro hockey player who bloodies his opponents, but I’m still traumatised by what happened a decade ago.”

“You’re wrong, Kylo. You’re the strongest person I know.”

He had the sudden savage urge to shatter the image she had of him. “I tell people I don’t drink because I’m an athlete when the truth is I can’t drink without having a panic attack.”

She flinched. “But you have thousands of dollars of wine and liquor on display.”

“All for show,” he shrugged.

Dawning realisation softened her face. “Is that why you like your sex rough? It’s a way to ease the tension without using drugs or alcohol.”

“Clever girl,” Kylo smirked. “Hockey helps too. The game requires a level of focused aggression that vents my darkness.”

“And as a bonus, you get to be mobbed by adoring fans at random bars,” she teased.

“As I recall, you were the star attraction before I arrived at Dazzle.”

The reminder of that night made her grit her teeth. “Kylo, I have to tell you something. Please don’t get mad.”

He scowled. “You have something worse to tell me than a memory about a creepy guy with black gloves strangling you as a child?”

“You wanted to know why I was avoiding you these last few days,” she reluctantly reminded him.

“I should spank you for being so badly behaved,” he growled, but when his deliberately provocative comment didn’t even get a blush out of her, he knew she was being serious.

Rey took a deep breath. “The other night at the club, I was approached by a stranger. You didn’t notice because you were fighting off the autograph hunters. This man- he warned me to stay away from you.”

Every muscle in Kylo’s fit body tightened. “What. The. Fuck?”

Rey immediately started patting his chest as if soothing a grumpy bear. “I froze like an idiot, and he left before I could ask him anything else.”

“Rules to live by, princess,” Kylo growled. “Don’t question the bastard who’s just threatened your life.”

She flushed. “I’m not sure he did threaten my life.”

“Rey.”

She talked over him in a rush. “I distanced myself afterwards because I wondered if looking into my past was putting you in danger. I wanted to figure out what to do without becoming emotional. Because it’s you and me, Kylo, and I don’t think clearly when it comes to us.”

Her confession was adorable, but he was still furious over the fact she’d been in danger and he’d been oblivious. “You should have fucking told me.”

Rey smacked the very chest she’d been stroking. “I just did, you- you dingbat.”

“Dingbat? Nice comeback, princess,” Kylo rolled his eyes. “But more importantly, what did this guy look like?”

She pouted. “He was older than us by a couple of decades at least. Tall, dark hair with some silver in it. He’s not built like you, but he was fit. Oh, and there’s a red birthmark on his face.”

Kylo bowed his head and counted to ten. “Fuck.”

“What?” Rey demanded. “What is it?”

He opened his mouth and closed it again.

She registered his hesitation at once. “Don’t you dare hold back on me, Kylo Ren! I know you have secrets you won’t share, but this one is mine. It happened to me.”

“So why tell me about the man?”

“How else am I going to solve the mystery of my past if you don’t help me put the pieces together?”

Rey tried to slide off his lap, but he pinned her to his side. “Stop running away, princess.”

“You’re the one shutting me out,” she snapped.

Tell her the truth, dumbass. There’s no going back now.

“The stranger with the red birthmark can only be one man, and he’s already showed up in your dreams. You know him as Maul.”

“Maul? My grandfather’s security guy?” Rey gasped, remembering the name. “No wonder he thought I’d recognise him.”

Kylo scowled. “Your childish mind may have seen him as a bodyguard, but Maul was much more than that. He was your grandfather’s right hand man, in charge of different areas of the business.”

“What business?” Rey demanded.

“Your family business,” Kylo spoke vaguely. “All that money had to come from somewhere.”

She let out a frustrated scream. “Just tell me already!”

“I’m not endangering your recovery.”

“Stop playing therapist, Kylo. I want the truth.”

He grimaced. “Is this where I yell ‘you can’t handle the truth’?”

“I can handle it,” she replied. “With you by my side.”

Kylo felt his brain stutter at Rey’s sweetly spoken conviction. The little girl she’d been and the young woman she was now… she’d always believed in him, believed he could save her, protect her. But she was wrong.

He’d failed her ten years ago, and what if he failed her now? She’d been threatened by Maul himself and he hadn’t realised. Rey could have been hurt… or worse.

“Why would Maul warn me away from you?” Rey asked, dragging him back into the present.

Kylo considered his response. “I told you that your family and mine have beef.”

“Was my grandfather the business rival who mentored Anakin Skywalker?” she asked confusedly. “Or was it the other way around?” Before he could reply, she went on, “What’s my grandfather’s name, Kylo? I should look him up.”

Worse and worse. “I’m not sure you’re ready for that.”

He waited for her anger, but this time her reply sent a chill down his spine. “Fine, I’ll look up Maul instead.”

Fuck.

“Do you think the man in the black hoodie could be Maul?” she asked suddenly.

Kylo frowned. “I said it before, princess, the timeline doesn’t make sense. Why would Maul shadow you for that long? Maybe the guy in the black hoodie is one of my obsessed fans.”

“It’s not always about you,” Rey spoke grumpily.

“Are you sure?” Needing leverage, he kissed her impertinent mouth, rolling her onto her back and spreading her legs in one smooth move.

Beneath him, she grew soft and pliant, pupils dilating and breath picking up speed. He notched the head of his swollen cock in the cleft of her moist pussy and began to push, slow and steady. After the first two inches, he paused.

“Kylo,” Rey moaned, lifting her hips off the bed, begging for more.

He kissed her gently on the lips, more gently than he’d handled her before. “I have an idea about helping you remember the past in a more organic way.”

“Great,” she whimpered, trying to force his erection deeper inside her body.

He gave a wicked laugh. “Once I have your word, I’ll give you all of me.”

“Word? What word?” she whined. “Is the word now?”

“Hmm.” He slipped her another inch, making her squeak. “Promise you won’t look into Maul until we’ve tried things my way.”

Rey dug blunt nails into bare shoulders. “Bastard.”

“That’s an accurate assessment.”

“How long will I have to wait?” she panted.

“Not long. A few days at the most.” He ran his tongue along the side of her neck in a wet stripe and she shivered. “Your past needs resolution.”

“Fine,” she hissed.

“Good girl,” he purred, and then he wasn’t going slow anymore.

Kylo rolled Rey over, pinning her head to the mattress and lifting her ass into the air, fucking her from behind like a dog in heat.

Her cries of pleasure rang in his ear, his own bliss a heady counterpoint. And for several sweaty, sticky minutes, he was able to forget what was to come.

Because the past was a bullet whistling through the air aimed at his heart, ready to shred and destroy. Once the truth was out, he’d lose his princess forever.

Chapter Text

Rey had experienced three orgasms thanks to the talents of Kylo Ren, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Theirs was not a normal relationship by any stretch of the imagination.

Was it even a relationship in the traditional sense of the word? They hadn’t talked about what they meant to each other despite clear evidence feelings were developing. In her case those feelings were in full blown flower, a whole damn hothouse of vibrant purple orchids intended for Kylo. But instead of exploring new possibilities, their conversations were reserved for murky memories, vague nightmares, and dissecting one very real former employee of her grandfather’s.

Her life wasn’t complicated at all.

“Are you listening to me?” Rose asked, interrupting Rey’s blissed out haze.

She blinked blearily. “What?”

“Oh, I recognise that look. I used to get that look,” Rose grumbled. “Hockey players give good dick.”

Rey blushed but didn’t deny it, taking a sip of piping hot caramel latte and burning her tongue instead. She was in between classes and had met Rose at their favourite café located on the outskirts of Coruscant U’s sprawling campus.

“I’m glad things are going well between you and Kylo. After years of celibacy, you deserve to experience five star R-rated activities,” Rose said with unconvincing cheer.

“It’s not the only thing we do,” Rey bashfully replied. Having never before had a sex life, she struggled to talk about it. A part of her wanted to keep it private, locked away from scrutiny, but another part wanted to shout her bliss from the rooftops.

It crossed her mind to mention Maul’s reappearance to Rose but she stopped herself just in time. What if careless words placed her best friend in danger? Bad enough she had to worry about Kylo’s safety- she’d develop a nosebleed if Rose was added to her pile of concerns. Besides, she’d agreed to leave Maul alone until she tried Kylo’s so-called memory experiment.

She wondered what he had in mind.

“Kylo’s libido must be impressive,” Rose mused, unfazed by Rey’s reticence. “Armi would find time to screw me in the bleachers between practice sessions, but Kylo seems even more testosteroney.”

“That’s not a real word,” Rey protested.

Rose waved a hand in the air. “You know what I mean.”

Rey decided a change of subject was needed. “Speaking of Hux, have you talked to him lately?”

“He’s avoiding me,” Rose grimaced.

Rey hesitated to say too much. “I think there’s more going on than meets the eye.”

“Do you know something?” Rose gasped, straightening up on the chair over which she’d been slumped. “Did Kylo mention Armi?”

“It’s obvious Hux is unhappy,” Rey deflected, sipping her coffee instead of meeting her friend’s gaze.

Rose grunted in agreement. “I want to crack open his pretty red head and unspool his brains to read his thoughts, but he won’t even reply to my texts.”

“Ew, gross.” Rey couldn’t help but giggle.

“A Black Dragon hockey player is both the sexiest and most frustrating specimen on earth. I promise Kylo’s gonna make you want to commit violence sooner rather than later.”

Rey huffed. “I turn into an axe-wielding Lizzie Borden around the women who flirt with him. Does that count?”

“Aggression can be cathartic, something hockey players know all too well,” Rose said philosophically. “Did you see the fight Armi got into during their last game? Nearly cracked his opponent’s jaw.”

Rey hesitated, wanting to help Rose without breaking Kylo’s confidence. “What if- and this is just me theorising- what if Hux thinks he’s doing you a favour by ending the relationship?”

Rose stopped playing with spare sugar packets to stare at her. “Where did that come from?”

“My own insecurities,” Rey confessed. “I considered walking away from Kylo to spare him my personal drama.”

Rose gasped. “Don’t be ridiculous, Rey. Kylo would hunt you down before he let you go.”

“Exactly,” she agreed, a warm tingle in her heart. “Now ask yourself this; why would Hux refuse to talk to you about his problems?”

Rose frowned. “It must be serious if he’d rather dump me than be honest. Maybe something bad happened, some kind of scandal? Hopefully one of his ex-skanks isn’t accusing him of being her baby daddy.”

Rey nearly choked on her mouthful of coffee. “That’s extreme.”

“Celebrities have to be so careful these days. Everyone’s a blackmailer in the making with their smartphones. Who knows what kind of compromising recordings someone has on Armi.”

Rey considered Kylo’s tastes in the bedroom and wondered if he had his lovers sign non-disclosure agreements. Maybe he hired professionals and avoided real women altogether. Now that she’d tasted true intimacy with the man she loved, she shuddered at the coldness of such an arrangement.

But Rose was still thinking out loud. “Armi’s never been much of a talker at the best of times. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but he struggles with his self-esteem because of his dad. Brendol Hux is a narcissistic asshole who serial cheats on Armi’s mom and treats his son like a burden. The abuse is both emotional and physical, and it’s fed into his world view… omigawd.”

Rey finished her coffee while Rose had her unsubtle epiphany.

“Damn it,” the brunette muttered. “I’m such an idiot. It’s his dad, isn’t it?” Dark eyes sparked with internal fire. “Brendol is involved in this somehow. It’s why Armi’s pushed me away. Nothing affects him worse than his jerkoff father.”

“How can you be sure?” Rey asked.

“By confronting my redheaded manchild, that’s how,” Rose declared. “I was planning on laying low after embarrassing myself the other day at his apartment, but this is war.”

Rey raised her coffee in salute. “I ride with you into battle, Captain Rose. Metaphorically speaking, of course.”

“I’ll take it,” Rose replied, clinking their mugs together. There was fierce determination in her gaze that hadn’t been there before.

Not long after, they wrapped up their coffee catch-up and Rey was power walking across campus to her lecture. Professor Akbar took a relaxed approach to attendance, but playing hooky was unthinkable to her. Rey’s Type A personality revolted at the very idea.

A figure dressed in black appeared out of nowhere, moving so quickly he'd shoved Rey off the main sidewalk and pinned her inside a narrow alcove before she realised what was going on.

Her attacker was tall, easily as tall as Kylo but significantly leaner, his face covered by a balaclava. He didn’t speak, his gaze as dark as the bottom of a well. Rey was frozen, petrified, and then something flashed in the corner of her eye.

A knife. He was carrying a six-inch blade in one hand.

That hand lifted. Swung. Aimed at her bare throat.

But Rey Niima was a survivor of some very nasty foster homes and knew how to defend herself. She twisted her body so that the knife whistled past her chin, scraping brick instead. Next, she employed a tactic taught to her by an older girl in the system, dropping to her knees and punching the man in black in the crotch.

The manoeuvre was effective. Her assailant gave a loud grunt and folded in half. Rey took the opportunity to let out a shrill scream. Fortunately for her, a couple of students were passing by and came to investigate at once.

The man in black pushed past them and took off running, the two students who’d come to her aid too startled to do much more than watch him flee.

“Hey, you okay?” a girl with dark hair in multiple tight braids asked in concern.

Rey realised she was still on the ground and shakily stood up. Her knees were scraped and bloody, but she told herself it was better than a knife wound. “I- I’m fine, thank you,” she stuttered.

“Did you need me to call anyone?” the girl asked as the other student gabbled into his phone, reporting what had happened. “You’re as pale as milk.”

Considering her usually tanned complexion, Rey wondered if she was in shock. “No, um, I can do it.”

She reached into her backpack and found her phone, but as soon as she had it in hand she hesitated.

Are you seriously about to call Kylo Ren?

Why not? He’ll want to know what happened.

He’s unavailable for your whining. Pro hockey players are busy, duh.

He was mad when I didn’t tell him about Maul.

That was then, this is now. You’re just going to annoy him.

He cares about me.

Don’t be ridiculous, Rey. No one cares for you. You’ll always be alone.

She swallowed hard to hide the sting of tears. Out of sheer defiance against her own toxic inner monologue, she rang Kylo’s mobile.

Rey told herself not to be disappointed if the call went to voicemail. Kylo might be at Black Dragons practice or in a meeting with his coaches or with his physio working on his back or being interviewed by a reporter…

“What’s up, princess?”

Her lungs emptied of oxygen at the sound of his voice.

“Princess? You there?”

“Y-you p-picked up,” she choked, hot tears spilling from her eyes.

There was a second’s silence before Kylo spoke with uncharacteristic gentleness. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

Her tears doubled.

“Where are you, Rey? I’ll come get you.”

“N-no, it’s okay,” she said, producing a wobbly smile of thanks as she was handed a tissue by the girl with braids. “There are people here with me. I just- I wanted to let you know something’s happened.”

Just then, the male student marched over. “Hey, campus security are on their way to interview you about the attack.”

“What attack?” Kylo roared on the other end of the line. “What the hell, Rey?”

She sighed, tears drying up. There went her ability to control the narrative. “I’m fine really.”

“What happened?”

“Some guy rushed me while I was on my way to class, but he’s gone now.”

“Are you hurt, princess?”

“At least you’re not calling me Rey anymore,” she sniffled, trying for humour. “I’m okay, Kylo. Really.”

“Tell me where you are or my next step in this relationship will be to get you chipped. I’m sure I can find someone who’ll implant a tracker in your body.”

“Way to go making it creepy,” she mumbled. “So, uh, we’re in a relationship? I just heard you call it a relationship. No backsies, Kylo.”

“Babygirl, I will keep you handcuffed to my bed for the rest of your life if you don’t answer my question right the fuck now.”

“Rude,” she muttered. “Promise you won’t yell when you see me?”

“Rey!”

“I mean, you’re yelling now…”

“I’m hanging up and calling Rose for your location.”

“Wait,” she pleaded. “I’m at school, on the sidewalk between the physics and engineering departments.”

“Is it safe for you to be there?”

She spotted a blue and white campus security car pulling up. “It is now.”

“I’ll be five minutes.”

“You don’t have to come, Ky. I’ll give my statement and go home.”

“Fuck that,” he snarled. “Stay in a crowd. I’m on my way.”

Before she could protest any further, he’d hung up.

As she turned to face the tense looking officer walking towards, Rey realised she was already feeling better. Speaking to Kylo had helped.

Her savage hockey player had picked up her call. He was dropping everything to be by her side. He did care about her. And maybe, just maybe, he loved her a little bit already.

Also, a man in a black hoodie had tried to kill her.

It seemed like both her dreams and nightmares were coming true.

Chapter Text

By the time Kylo arrived, Rey had finished her interview with a uniformed campus security officer. The girl with the braids left as soon as they had her details, but the guy stuck around.

Kylo cut across cobblestone paths, his long legs eating up the distance, and it took Rey exactly three seconds to notice him. The moment hazel eyes locked onto his, it was like the entire world hushed, a mere backdrop for the two of them. There were no other sounds or colours except for Rey.

Fuck, he had it bad. Thank God she cared for him as well, a chaotic ball of energy everywhere except in bed where she turned into his compliant little submissive. His cock jerked inside his pants and he told the rogue organ to settle down. Now was not a good time. His princess had been attacked.

As Kylo drew closer his resolve firmed. His instinct to throw Rey over his shoulders and move her somewhere no one could find them became a pulse pounding need. But before he could do exactly that, some loser intercepted him.

The stranger was small and wiry with skin like bronze and shiny black hair. How dare he cut Kylo’s eye contact with Rey?

Kylo barged in between them, and the new guy took a startled step back. “Let’s go, princess.”

Rey tried to elbow him in the side as she said, “This is Ezra. He came to my rescue.”

Kylo had flustered Ezra but he still managed a smile for Rey. “It wasn’t really a rescue. All I did was show up and the other guy ran.”

Kylo swallowed a growl at this reminder that he hadn’t been around to protect Rey. “We appreciate the help, but I’m here now.”

Instead of getting lost, Ezra turned to Rey. “Why don’t I give you my number so you can call me if you want to talk things over?”

Kylo didn’t think, he reacted. Wrapping an arm around Rey, he placed a hand on the nape of her neck as he slammed his lips onto hers in a kiss so ruthless she gasped. He claimed her tongue, tasting her nice and deep. He could feel Ezra staring, and he was happy for the younger man to watch the show. Kylo wanted him to know who Rey belonged to.

Jealous? Him? Not at all.

Kylo didn’t wait for Ezra to start up again, dragging Rey away as soon as he ended the kiss. They were in the carpark before she was able to smack him on the chest.

“Slow down! I can’t keep up,” she panted.

“We have to do something about your short legs,” he snapped.

She pulled her hand from his and folded her arms over pert breasts, on display in a snug pink vintage Barbie t-shirt. No wonder stupid Ezra wanted her number. “We should do something about your caveman act. What was that me-Tarzan-you-Jane behaviour all about?”

“Come on, princess,” he scoffed. “You’ve just been attacked, and I’m supposed to be okay about some random dude being all up in your business?”

“He wasn’t up in my business. Ezra was just being nice.” She tucked her hair behind her ears and he noticed the blush warming her cheeks.

“You liked it,” Kylo grinned, stepping closer so her lovely tits brushed against his chest. Rey stared at him with wide eyes, a deer caught in the headlights. “You liked my caveman act, princess. Liked how I staked my claim in public. Liked how I kissed you and marked you as mine.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“And yet you’re turning into a sun-ripened tomato.”

Her gaze faltered and he grabbed her by the chin, running a finger along her swollen bottom lip. “Admit it.”

“You’re a jackass.”

“That’s been well established.”

He kissed her again and this time she leaned into him, moaning sweetly. But Kylo was done having Rey out in the open for anyone to see. He abruptly ended their embrace and ushered her into his car.

“What now?” she asked as they hit the road.

“Was it Maul who came after you?” he asked.

She frowned. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so? You need to be surer than that, princess.”

Rey bit her lip. “Kylo, it was him. The guy in the black hoodie. Except this time his face was covered by a balaclava.”

The hold he had on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles showed white. “What did he do? Did he say anything to you?” She was watching his hands and he forcibly eased his grip. “Tell me.”

“You’re going to freak out.”

“Rey.”

She huffed. “He had a knife, Kylo. I think he wanted to kill me.”

Her words hit him like a gut punch. This had gone too far and he was to blame. Kylo pulled a screeching U-turn and stepped on the gas, heading to a location that was never far from his thoughts. “Siri, call Anakin Skywalker.”

The line rang three time before a crisp voice answered. “Ben? What’s wrong?”

His heart ached inside his chest. If anything had happened to Rey today, he would have never forgiven himself. “I need your help, grandpa.”

“What is it?” Short and to the point. That was Anakin.

“I’m trying to get into the old Palpatine manor and I need the entry codes. I’ve done my research, so I know the security firm being paid to watch over the abandoned estate is First Order. You’ve got some pull with that company, don’t you?”

There was a strained silence that lasted at least five Mississippi’s. “Is this about the girl? What’s she done now?”

Kylo avoided Rey’s narrowing gaze. “Rey and I… we’re together, gramps.”

“Together how?” Anakin’s tone was that of a man speaking through gritted teeth.

“I care about her.”

Rey reached out and gripped Kylo’s thigh, lips breathlessly parted.

“Do you ever listen to me?” Anakin exploded over the car speakers. “This is worse than your dalliance with Phasma. At least she had the decency to cut ties with the Palpatine family! You realise you’re willingly entering a relationship with a girl who could destroy you?”

“Someone tried to kill Rey at her school today,” Kylo said, interrupting his grandfather’s tirade. “The only thing that will keep her safe is the truth. If we expose what happened, there’ll be nothing left to protect. They won’t have a reason to come after her.”

“Damn it, Ben,” Anakin muttered. There was the clink of a glass before his grandfather spoke again. “How far do you intend to take this?”

“All the fucking way. I’ll blast my story across every news outlet in the country if I have to.”

Rey was staring at him now, her expression confused.

Anakin groaned audibly. “Don’t jump the gun before talking to me first. I have an army of lawyers for a reason. We might as well make them earn their exorbitant salaries.”

“I promise,” Kylo said, deciding he’d stressed out the old man enough. “What about those security codes?”

“You’re headed to the manor now, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“I don’t know whether to blame Han or Leia for your daredevil temperament.”

Kylo snickered. “Grandma says I get it from you.”

“It figures.” Anakin gave a reluctant chuckle, his only reaction to any mention of his beloved Padmé. “Check your phone in twenty minutes. I should have something for you by then.”

“Thanks, grandpa.”

“Thank me by staying safe.”

“Will do,” Kylo said before hanging up.

He exited onto an eight-lane freeway and settled in for the hour long drive, aware he’d said some things on the call that Rey would find interesting.

At last she spoke, but it wasn’t the topic he’d expected. “How long were you involved with Phasma?”

He smirked. “Who’s going all Tarzan and Jane now, huh?”

“Shut up.”

“Phas and I are ancient history,” Kylo said, entering an address into the car’s GPS. “I hooked up with her a couple of times out of youthful stupidity and a perverse sense of curiousity.”

“Because she was the wife of the man who had you kidnapped?”

Kylo grunted. “Of all the details you dream up, that’s what you remember? Your grandfather’s third trophy wife? He and Phas were married for less than a month when everything went down. I didn’t even see her at the house that night.”

“Phasma was there,” Rey confirmed.

He shot her a sharp look but didn’t argue the fact.

She bowed her head, massaging her temples. “You asked Anakin for help getting into Palpatine Manor. Was Palpatine my grandfather’s name?”

“Sheev Palpatine,” Kylo clarified as he continued to break the speed limit. “He was my grandfather’s mentor and a few decades older than Anakin.”

“Was he the one who had you kidnapped?”

“No,” Kylo said firmly.

Rey looked relieved that the beloved ‘pappy’ of her dreams hadn’t ordered the heinous act, but the truth was so much worse. If Kylo had his way Rey would be left in blissful ignorance.

“Palpatine. The name seems familiar.”

“Your family owned a thriving conglomerate, but your grandfather’s passing away put an end to his empire. It surprised Anakin how quickly the business fell apart. He never could work out why.”

“You know what’s funny?” Rey murmured almost to herself. “All this time, it didn’t occur to me once to wonder if my grandfather’s death was linked to your kidnapping. I just assumed he died after the fact from a heart attack or stroke. Some old person’s disease, you know? But that’s not what happened, is it?”

Kylo felt the muscles of his body tense. “No, princess, it’s not.”

They drove in silence for several miles before she asked, “Why did Anakin say I could destroy you?”

Shadows moved in his princess’ haunted eyes, an awareness that hadn’t been there before. Already, memories were rising from the depths to which they’d sunk.

“We’ll be at the manor soon enough. I hope it’ll give you the answers you’ve been looking for.”

It was too bad for Kylo that those very answers might mean the end of his relationship with Rey.

Chapter Text

Rey sat quietly in the passenger seat of Kylo’s G-wagon, pulse fluttering like the wings of a drunken butterfly.

Home. She was going home. Except it didn’t feel like a homecoming when she’d already been at peace living with Kylo in his apartment. It was just how he made her feel. Who knew that what she needed to fulfill her desire for family was to claim one foul-mouthed and aggressive hockey player?

She mulled over the precious piece of information he’d passed on to her. Her pappy was called Sheev Palpatine. It was an elegant name, she decided. Elegant but cold. Almost immediately, she fought to suppress a shiver.

You’re an idiot. Don’t start imagining things that aren’t true.

Niima must have been her dad’s surname. Her deceased mother was likely the Palpatine who connected her to Sheev. It was on the tip of her tongue to confirm this theory with Kylo, but she stopped herself. He was still nervous about overwhelming her with information. He wanted her to remember for herself.

Fair enough. She hoped she did. And if not… she had no doubt Kylo would fill in the blanks in the next day or two. The attempt on her life had shaken him badly. According to his conversation with Anakin, Kylo believed the truth of her past would keep her safe.

Rey wasn’t sure what she was more concerned about: why her past was volatile enough to place her in danger or how having the details publicized would protect her. It was all very alarming.

She only wanted to know where she’d come from. Was that too much to ask without someone dying or holding a press conference?

“We’re here,” Kylo announced.

He sounded strange and it occurred to her that he was returning to the scene of a crime. A crime perpetrated against his person. A crime so traumatic it had redefined his life.

“Kylo…” Rey gazed at him, stricken. “We don’t need to do this if you don’t want to.”

“Don’t worry about me, princess,” he said. “Who knows? This visit might be good for the both of us.

“Okay,” she agreed, taking him at his word. What more could she do?

She gazed out the front windscreen at a ten-foot wrought iron gate that was so pocked with rust it looked diseased. A thick brick wall surrounded the property, hiding the view of the grounds.

“Ready, princess?”

She took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

Kylo checked his messages and punched a six-digit code into a keypad. Slowly but surely, the gates creaked open.

The car meandered along a driveway littered with leaves and branches, the white gravel sparse so that the dirt underneath could be seen. A three-tier marble fountain loomed out the front, its water dark and brackish, the once creamy stone covered in dark green moss.

“How rich was my family?” Rey gasped, taking in the rundown monstrosity of a house that rose in the distance.

Kylo said nothing as she gazed at a five-storey structure with sandstone walls and blue gabled rooftops covered in mud and moss. The paint was peeling and the tiles loose, all the windows shut and the curtains drawn. And yet the beauty and opulence of the building remained like the ghost of a once respectable noblewoman.

“The house sits on five acres of land and the insides are around two thousand square feet. Twenty bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, and a half dozen other areas.”

“You sound like a realtor,” Rey said. She was attempting humour, but they were both too tense to laugh.

“I looked it up,” Kylo said simply. “This was where I intended to bring you all along. I wasn’t sure how to get access, but we’re here now.”

Rey swallowed hard, wondering why she was struggling to leave the safety of the car. “There’s no one else around, right?”

He slowly nodded. “The place was abandoned the night you lost your memories. According to my investigator, a gardening team comes through here for maintenance every six months and I suspect there are cleaners as well.”

“No wonder the house is still in one piece.”

Kylo frowned. “You’re right. There’s not a single broken window in sight.”

The front doors were locked, but again there was a discreetly placed keypad for which Kylo had a code. The entryway of the house was dark and shadowed but fortunately the lights were still working.

Rey swallowed a gasp as a dusty chandelier came to life illuminating a double storey foyer with a curving banister that led to the second floor. In the centre of the landing was an oil painting of a tall, thin man with silvered hair and sapphire blue eyes. He was dressed in a dark suit and his chiselled face would have been handsome were it not so cruel.

She wondered at the artist who’d paint such a portrait, and the man who was happy to have it on display. “Is that…?”

“Palpatine,” Kylo confirmed.

Rey stared at the beloved ‘pappy’ of her dreams but felt nothing. She was disappointed that there were no other pictures of family and friends. In fact, apart from cream marble floors with a vein of dark gold running through the stone and faded champagne gold flocked wallpaper, the room was free of embellishments.

All the furnishings must have been packed away or sold. And yet they’d left the towering portrait of her grandfather, the old man looking down upon her with disapproval.

“This house… it still belongs to my family.”

If there was enough money for the upkeep of a haunted manor, why had she been abandoned in the foster system? What the hell was going on?

A thread of anxiety wormed its way into her brain and she reached for Kylo. He took her hand at once, squeezing cold fingers.

“If you’re up to it, Rey, I thought we’d try the basement.”

She swallowed hard. Rey. He’d called her Rey, showing his nerves. But this wasn’t a pleasant time for either one of them.

The walked hand in hand around the stairs towards the back of the house. Down corridors and past an industrial-sized kitchen. It occurred to her that parts of her dream couldn’t have been accurate. Surely her grandfather’s study and her bedroom were on higher floors. She must have condensed the journey she’d taken that night, her little eight-year-old legs carrying her up and down stairs.

Don’t fill in the gaps with supposition. Try and remember everything as it was.

Her head was starting to ache.

At last, they came to a broad door painted the same colour as the cream walls around it. She waited for some kind of premonition, but nothing happened.

Kylo glanced at her before pushing it open. The doorway was as dark as it had been in her dreams.

Rey dropped Kylo’s hand and took the stairs ahead of him. Rough concrete. A metal banister. No wonder it had been so cold to touch.

She tapped the torch app on her smartphone halfway down the stairs, eventually arriving in a room that was a twelve-by-twelve foot box. It was shockingly small. She’d expected a dungeon that ran the length of the manor.

Rey realised her lungs were burning for lack of oxygen and she drew a quick breath.

Breathe, Rey, breathe.

She aimed the torch around the dark room, bitterly disappointed by its barrenness.

Nothing. There was nothing here.

“I see something,” Kylo said as if he’d read her mind, and her heart leapt in her chest.

He stepped forward and tugged on a cord hanging from the ceiling. A single lightbulb burned bright, chasing away the shadows.

“Rey?”

She never thought the day would come when it hurt that Kylo Ren didn’t call her princess. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything.” He wasn’t upset which helped her breathe easier. “I’m not sure what I expected. A bloody corpse chained to the walls or a computer set up with a neon yellow sign that said ‘press here if you want to know what happened’.”

“The place has been sanitized,” Kylo said, walking the room in a grid pattern. He stared at the floor. “See this?”

Sure enough, there were holes in the ground.

“I was chained to the floor,” he explained. “Someone’s removed the steel rings embedded in the concrete.”

“They were trying to cover up their actions.”

“Fuckers.” The word flew out of Kylo’s mouth, sharp and savage, and she realised his calm façade was just that- a façade. Underneath the skin, he was a seething, boiling cauldron of rage.

“Kylo…”

He grabbed her by the hair, twisting her around so she was pinned by his arms. The kiss was hard and rough, a bruising of teeth and lips. She didn’t know what to do, kissing him back with eyes wide open. The man she loved had been triggered, his handsome face darkening like storm clouds, his breath choppy and erratic.

He slipped a hand under her t-shirt and twisted her unfettered breasts, pinching her nipples until she saw stars. It felt like too much and not enough all at the same time. She lifted her hands and he peeled off her top before going back to mauling her mouth.

This place and the things that had happened inside it were a part of her, a part of Kylo too. A moment in time that had irreparably shattered their innocence, turning them both into different people. Remove Palpatine Manor and they wouldn’t even recognise themselves anymore.

And now she was seeing Kylo at his lowest, on the verge of a panic attack. The fact that she’d caused it by forcing him to bring her here created a black hole in her chest.

What have I done?

His hands gripped her hips so tight it hurt, fingers digging into flesh as he ended the kiss, lowering his head, breathing harshly. He knew he was spiralling out of control and was attempting to find his way back to her.

“K-Kylo…” Her voice trembled and she hated herself for it. She wanted to be a solid rock for him the way he was for her. He made her feel beautiful and complete instead of rejected and alone.

“Shh,” he murmured. “Stay still, princess. Just like this. You and me.”

Her heart leapt. Princess. That’s who she was- a warrior unicorn princess who would always stand by her man.

“I hate this,” she confessed.

“Hate what?”

“I want to see your face.”

She tugged at his hand and he followed her lead, allowing her to push him down onto the stairs so he was seated. She clambered onto him, straddling his lap, her knees on either side of his thighs and her bare breasts in his face.

“What now?” Kylo asked, his tone amused. Sounding more like himself.

She fumbled with his belt. “I want all of you, Kylo.”

“Right here and now?”

“Everywhere and all the time.”

His lusty chuckle made her blush but she continued her task, stupidly fumbling her way past layers of belt, slacks and boxer briefs. He didn’t even attempt to help her apart from occasionally shifting his hips.

“Why are you doing this, princess?”

“Because I have so few things that are mine and you’re mine.”

“Is that right?”

“And I’m yours too.”

The look in his amber eyes made her pathetically hopeful that everything would be okay.

In the end, of course, he took charge. Pushing aside the damp crotch of her panties, he shoved her down onto his cock, sheathing himself whole inside her, from slick tip to engorged balls. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her spine nearly snapping in half.

Oh. Oh my.

Her pussy was wet and soft but he was like steel and flame, big enough to stretch her passage to its limits.

“Fuck, princess. You feel so good and tight and right.” His breath tickled the sensitive skin of her breasts.

Kylo latched onto a nipple, making her moan and then whimper as he used his tongue and teeth. He thrust into her from below, driving into her deep but slow, his thick shaft invading her wet sleeve. It felt as if he was memorising her with his cock, wrapping her around him instead of splitting her in half like he usually did. This was no rough fucking but a thorough love making. Her hips jerked in response, her round ass squirming with pleasure. Her fingers clutched his jacket as she rode up and down, up and down his length, matching his sensual pace.

Rey pressed her lips to his, her dark prince who’d already given her everything she wanted. His mouth parted, claiming her in a passionate kiss that robbed her of breath.

She was joined to Kylo in all senses of the word, their connection removing the darkness, ensuring there was nothing else in the room with them. No missing parts, no nightmares, no brokenness.

“Thank you for being mine, princess,” he whispered against her lips.

And with those words, she came. Rey cried out as the orgasm spread through her body, limbs shaking and eyes tearing up. She fell completely, trusting Kylo to catch her.

His hands gripped tighter as he thrust into her trembling pussy, picking up speed until she was filled with his warmth, his seed dripping between her thighs.

He grabbed her by the nape with a strong palm, pulling her closer so her forehead rested against his. They were breathing each other’s air, but it still felt like it wasn’t enough. She would never get enough of Kylo Ren.

He was her lover, her lifeline… her soulmate.

Rey closed her eyes and was wrenched into the past.

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe it worked.”

Rey clapped her hands in delight. The key she’d found hanging in the garden shed had unlocked the chain wrapped around her new friend Ben. Thick metal links slid off him like a snake, falling to the ground with a thunk.

“What now?” she asked, though it was her house they were in.

“Can you show me the way out, princess?”

She beamed. “Yes, ‘cause I’m a unicorn princess!”

“A what now?” he grunted, trying to stand.

“Unicorns are strong and wild and- and undependent.”

“Independent?” he smirked.

“Yep.”

Rey scooted close to Ben’s side as he began pulling himself up the stairs, legs shaking with every step. “I can help, Ben.”

He briefly laid a big hand on top of her small head. “I’m too heavy for you, baby.”

She frowned. She wasn’t a baby but she decided not to remind him while he was all bloody and injured.

They eventually arrived at the top of the stairs, Ben puffing and panting like a steam train in one of her cartoons. He was clearly tired, and Rey wondered if she should offer him a juice box. She liked juice boxes.

“Where are you taking me?” Ben asked before she could suggest a snack.

Rey supposed she’d want to run away too if she was recently chained up by a monster.

She led him out the back through the mudroom. She loved the name mudroom but the area was actually super clean and tidy. Pawpaw’s housekeeper never let anything get dirty.

“Fuck,” Ben said once he’d staggered outdoors and seen the sprawling estate.

Rey’s eyes grew as big as the moon in the night sky. “That’s a very bad word,” she whispered. She wasn’t supposed to use it, not even if Maul or Snoke slipped up and said it in front of her. Pawpaw would get cross if she did.

“Sorry, princess,” Ben absentmindedly replied. “Where am I?”

“My house,” she said. “The front gate is that way and I know the password to open it.”

He gave her a radiant smile that cut through the blood and muck smearing his pale face, his cheeks creasing with unexpected dimples.

She fell in love with him right there and then. It was in that moment she realised she’d found her prince charming.

“Thank you, Rey,” he said gruffly.

“Ben?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you come back one day and marry me?”

He started to laugh, but before he could say anything the backyard was flooded with light.

“What’s going on here?” a low voice demanded.

“Pappy!” Rey squealed. Everything would be okay now. Her grandfather was here. “Pappy, we have to help Ben. The monster got him.”

Beside her, Ben swallowed hard.

Her grandfather’s expression was impossible to decipher. Rey couldn’t tell if he was shocked, angry or sad.

Shadows moved around him. A curtain twitched, hands with red lacquered nails disappearing quickly. The back door opened and someone appeared.

There was a fight. Angry voices and harsh words.

There was a gun. Held by pappy. No, the weapon was in Ben’s shaking hand.

The gun went off. Pappy. Pappy fell down.

She was screaming. She wanted Ben, but he’d hurt pappy.

Ben picked her up and carried her away. She was in his arms, swallowed by the darkness. A line of dark cars came down the driveway. People swarmed out of the vehicles like angry buzzing bees.

“Ben! Is that you, son? Oh, thank God!”

“Dad… I…”

“I’m sorry it took so long to find you. We didn’t realise Palpatine had a country estate.”

“You’re bleeding, Ben. Get over here.”

“Who are you carrying?”

“Is that the Palpatine girl? Why do you have her?”

“Grandpa, I did something bad…”

Rey gazed up at Ben and saw fear so deep it made her want to cry.

“Rey? Rey!”

She came to with a start, head swimming and vision blurry. Ben… no, Kylo was holding her, just like he had in her waking dream.

Rey pushed him away, finding her discarded clothes and getting dressed. Putting herself back together.

I’ll never be put back together.

“Are you alright, princess?” He took a step towards her but froze when she staggered backwards.

“Don’t touch me.”

He paled. “What do you remember?”

“Did you k-kill my grandfather?” So horrific was the thought that she stumbled over the word.

There was a charged silence.

“Yeah, he did.”

Rey nearly snapped her neck looking for the source of the voice.

Gazing down on them was Maul, his expression annoyed. “I told you to stay away from him.”

“I thought you were threatening my life,” Rey gasped. “But you were warning me.”

Maul glanced from Rey to Kylo and back again. “I’d rather not do this here.”

Kylo. This was all because of Kylo. She’d lost her guardian and only family because of Kylo Ren… or Ben Solo as he was known at the time.

Rey couldn’t wrap her mind around it. She’d asked him in the car whether her grandfather was the one who’d kidnapped him, and he’d said no. Clear and definitive, he’d said no. She believed him.

When Kylo shot Sheev Palpatine had he believed himself in danger? Did he only find out later that her grandfather wasn’t the one to blame? But then who’d kidnapped Kylo? And for what purpose?

She’d done nothing but unlock more questions.

Rey refused to climb the stairs with Kylo at her back so he exited first, his expression strained.

They followed Maul to the second floor of the manor and she was surprised to see how clean everything was. Why maintain an abandoned residence? The drawing room was a blend of cerulean blue and golden cream, from drapes to carpet to wallpaper and furniture.

Kylo took a seat on a couch and Rey chose the armchair furthest away from him.

His stoicism shattered. “So that’s it, princess? I don’t even get a chance to explain?”

“You have no right,” she said, lower lip wobbling. “All this time I’ve been in your home, in your bed, crying to you about being a foster kid and wanting to know my real family, and you damn well knew you’d killed my only living relative.” Kylo flinched and she took grim satisfaction in his reaction. “I was a fool buying into your noble hero act.”

“It wasn’t an act,” Maul said unexpectedly.

Rey stared at the older man. “What are you talking about?”

Just then, another figure entered the room. Tall, thin, dressed in a black sweater with the hood drawn, face hidden by dark glasses.

Rey recoiled in her seat. Suddenly, she wished she was next to Kylo.

No, wait. What was she thinking? Kylo Ren was the bad guy… wasn’t he?

“You! You tried to kill me,” she yelled at the newcomer.

Silent as a wraith, the man drifted to the far edges of the room. He leant against faded wallpaper, presumably watching them from behind his shades. Rey couldn’t be sure- maybe he’d decided to take a nap.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked, too afraid to take her eyes off the man in the black hoodie.

“Is this the guy who tried to stab you this morning?” Kylo demanded.

This morning. It felt like a lifetime ago.

This morning the world was black and white, good and evil, and now… now the love of her life was the same man who’d destroyed her galaxy.

Always so dramatic, Rey. Stop looking at your memories through your emotions and think. What are the facts? What do you know?

Fact: Kylo had been a scared eighteen-year-old boy who was kidnapped, bound and tortured.

Fact: Kylo lashed out when he got his hands on a gun, shooting her pappy.

Fact: They weren’t alone that night. She’d seen movement through windows and doors.

Rey still didn’t know who’d kidnapped Kylo in the first place or whose gun it was. Her first impression was that it was her pappy’s gun, but how could it be true? Why would her grandfather be armed?

And what if the shooting was a terrible mistake? Kylo had renounced the name Ben Solo because he no longer wanted to be that boy. He was badly traumatised that night. He’d killed an innocent man and couldn’t face his own actions.

You asked me once why I still have my facial scar. Mom was desperate I get rid of it, but I refused plastic surgery. I couldn’t do it, erase the mark on my face like it was nothing. I needed it as a- a memorial of sorts. A signpost. Not for anyone else but for me.

Kylo’s words echoed in her heart and mind. She realised she understood him now better than ever. The more she thought about it, the more his violent actions made sense. What really hurt was that he hadn’t told her the truth himself. Hadn’t warned her he was complicit in the collapse of her childhood.

She took her focus off the strange man who’d tried to kill her, a man whose face she still couldn’t see, and locked eyes with Kylo. His expression startled her.

In the space of minutes his complexion, always alabaster pale, had turned shockingly white, as if the blood had drained out of him. Pain ran like fault lines across his face, making his cheekbones stand out as sharp as blades. Amber eyes burned with self-loathing.

Rey got to her feet and all three men twitched. She went to Kylo, turning her back on Maul and the stranger. Trusting Kylo to protect her if either one made a move.

“You love me,” she said, lips quivering with feeling.

Love. What she felt for him was love. Despite past actions, it was her truth.

“Yes.” Hope entered his darkened gaze.

“I love you too.”

“Fuck, yes.”

“Promise me that you kept your silence for my good.” She choked on a sob. “Promise this wasn’t some elaborate manipulation, that you’re not using me to take revenge on my family for what they did to you.”

He drew a shuddering breath. “I would never hurt you, princess. You’re the one pure thing in my life.”

She wiped away a tear. “No more secrets, Kylo.”

He held out his hand and she took it, the callused palm of a hockey player who’d seen his fair share of battles on and off the ice. “You have all of me, princess. From the day we met I was yours.”

Her heart ached remembering the innocent eight-year-old girl he’d picked up and carried away into the night, sheltering her from something she didn’t yet understand.

Rey leant over to kiss Kylo on the lips, a chaste benediction.

The man in black reacted. Roaring like a beast, he charged across the room. The hood of his sweater slipped to reveal a patchy skull, dark glasses falling off to expose a twisted face.

Maul leapt at him but missed. “Snoke, no!”

Chapter Text

Who the hell is Snoke?

The question ricocheted through Kylo’s brain as he reacted with all his years of hockey training to protect Rey from the madman running towards her with a knife. And it was Rey he was protecting. Snoke had no interest in harming him.

As soon as he placed his bulky body in front of his princess, the other man froze. The hand holding the weapon trembled.

“Stay the fuck away from her,” Kylo growled.

Snoke’s expression morphed from enraged to shocked. “You- you don’t understand.” His voice was a low rasp. “I’m saving you.”

“Saving me? What the fuck?”

Maul, in the meantime, had been inching closer to the lanky man. He grabbed Snoke by the wrist and wrestled the knife away from him. To Kylo’s surprise, Snoke let go of it easily.

“What’s going on?” Rey demanded, trying to push her way in front of Kylo. “I know this man. Snoke was the gardener when I was a child.”

Snoke stared at Rey as if struggling to understand her words. “No.”

“You fixed stuff in the backyard. You let me help sometimes. I- I think you were kind to me because I had no one else to play with.”

“No,” Snoke repeated, his voice a quiet moan. “No, no, no, no, no…” He sank to the ground, head in his hands.

Kylo looked at Maul in confusion, pinning Rey to his side since she refused to stay behind him.

“Sheev allowed Snoke to tinker, it’s true,” Maul spoke tiredly, “but he’s not the gardener, Rey. Snoke is Palpatine’s son, your father’s twin brother.”

The announcement hit Kylo like an electric current. Next to him, Rey drew a sharp breath.

Kylo remembered the night he shot and killed Palpatine like it was yesterday, though time and trauma had turned some details hazy. There were two men with Sheev, and it was the bigger one with his red birthmark who’d made an impression. The other man had kept to the shadows and he now wondered if it was Snoke.

“Sheev had twin boys?” Kylo demanded.

“I have an uncle?” Rey said in disbelief.

“An uncle who’s trying to kill you,” Kylo quietly reminded her. She glared at him and he gave an unrepentant shrug. It was important to pay attention to homicidal relatives carrying knives.

Maul didn’t answer immediately, leading a dazed looking Snoke to a velvet divan near an open window. He sat the man down as if he was a child and Snoke stretched out his lanky body, laying his head on a padded armrest and closing his eyes.

Kylo frowned at this behaviour. Was Snoke developmentally challenged?

Maul waved Rey and Kylo back towards the couch. “Sit down. It’s time you learned the truth.”

It occurred to Kylo that after a decade of dealing with his trauma, he might not know the full facts of the night that still haunted him. What was he missing? He’d certainly never heard of Snoke before. “Talk fast, Maul. My grandfather knows we’re here and he’ll unleash the hounds if I can’t be reached.”

“Fucking Skywalker versus Palpatine bullshit,” Maul groaned, sinking into an armchair.

“I’m a Palpatine,” Rey spoke unexpectedly. “You said my father was Sheev’s son, so why is my surname Niima?”

Maul sighed. “Niima is the remote desert town I crossed on my way to dropping you off at an orphanage in Jakku. It seemed as good a name as any.”

The callous honesty of Maul’s answer robbed Rey of her composure, igniting Kylo’s protective instincts.

The older man must have read his expression, because Maul held up a wary finger. “Wait. Just wait. Hear me out before you blow your top, alright?”

Rey slipped her hand into Kylo’s and squeezed, reassuring him she was alright. “Fine,” he muttered.

“No one knows what happened except a handful of us inside Palpatine’s crumbling empire.” Maul cleared his throat. “It’s hard to talk about even after all this time.”

“I was told one of Palpatine’s minions kidnapped me out of a misplaced sense of loyalty, intending to get ahead by threatening the grandson of his rival,” Kylo said. “But I’m guessing that wasn’t true. Was it Snoke who took me, wanting to please his father?”

“Snoke was your kidnapper,” Maul confirmed, “but the reasons why are complicated. If you want to understand this story, we need to start at the beginning.”

“Then start,” Rey spoke impatiently.

Maul smirked. “Damn, you sounded just like Sheev then.”

“You’re not helping,” Kylo growled.

Maul took one look at both their faces and launched into his tale. “Around the time Palpatine met a young upstart by the name of Anakin Skywalker and began mentoring him, his wife Amee fell pregnant with twins. When the children arrived, Dathan was a normal baby boy, but Snoke was born with a skin condition that left his hair patchy and the skin on his face crumpled. Despite consultations with multiple specialists and plastic surgeons, the disease remained incurable, ruining Snoke’s appearance. Sheev Palptine only accepted perfection, so he hid Snoke from the public eye.”

“That’s medieval behaviour,” Kylo muttered.

“I agree,” Maul replied, “but Sheev only ever did what Sheev wanted. His standards were exacting and no one could tell him otherwise. Amee insisted Snoke was brought up with the same advantages as his twin, but while Dathan went to school, Snoke had tutors at the house. The isolation warped his growth,” here Maul lowered his voice, “but at least he had Dathan as a companion.”

“What happened to Amee?” Rey asked, and Kylo knew despite everything she’d heard, his princess was still hoping that somewhere out there was a long lost grandmother with whom she could bond.

“Amee died when the boys were ten years old, a drunk driving incident that robbed the children of their only loving parent.”

Kylo frowned. “Were things really that bad? I mean, homeschooling sucks if your twin gets to go out into the world and meet other kids, but it’s not abuse.”

Maul hesitated. “I don’t know why I still feel the need to protect the old emperor. That’s what we used to call him, you know.”

“Was he abusive?” Rey spoke nervously. “Did Palpatine drink or do drugs? Was my grandfather violent?” Just because she couldn’t remember anything bad, it didn’t mean it hadn’t happened.

“Sheev Palpatine was a psychopath,” Maul spoke plainly. “He was cold, calculating, and manipulative to the extreme. It made him a boss in the business world, but giving a man like him sons was the worst thing possible. He treated the twins as if they were science experiments. Dathan was his heir, the golden boy who got good grades and captained the football team. Sheev insisted upon it. Snoke was his shadow, the one he taught to hunt and kill. The one who became his enforcer.”

“That’s awful,” Rey whispered, leaning into Kylo’s side.

“Palpatine nurtured the darkness in Snoke and the light in Dathan until the boys were irreparably damaged. Snoke lost his sense of identity outside the wicked deeds he committed, threatening and hurting Sheev’s enemies as if he was a hired mercenary rather than his child. And Dathan… all Dathan wanted was to escape his father’s clutches.”

Kylo wrapped an arm around Rey’s shoulders. “Get to the point.”

Maul nodded abruptly. “Dathan was accepted into Coruscant U after high school and he insisted he live on campus. Palpatine was fine with it, seeing Dathan’s request as a normal bid for independence. What no one realised was that Snoke had a toxic reliance on his brother.” Maul paused to consider his words. “Actually, Dathan might have been suspicious of his twin brother’s emotional state. He continued to return home on the weekends to visit, but then he met Miramir and everything changed.”

“Miramir. Was that my mother’s name?”

Kylo’s heart ached to see Rey’s excitement. For her, Maul wasn’t weaving some moody fairytale. She was desperately looking for her roots. Her family.

Maul smiled. “Mira was a smart and beautiful young woman from a perfectly average middle class family. I suspect Sheev would have gotten rid of her eventually, except she fell pregnant with you, Rey.”

“Oh.”

Kylo wished he could wrap Rey in cotton wool, but she was right in wanting to know the truth. To shape her future she needed to understand her past.

“Sheev tried to bribe Mira into having an abortion so he could give Dathan away to some oil baron’s daughter, but the young couple were determined to be together. They eloped and began living their white picket fence dreams.”

“I- I only have good memories of my pappy. My grandfather, I mean. I didn’t realise he despised me,” Rey said, stricken.

Maul sighed. “Sheev loved you in his own way, Rey. By the time he met you, Dathan and Miramir were dead, and you were the last evidence of his son’s legacy. Being female worked to your advantage because your grandfather was old school. Unlike the boys, little girls were to be spoiled and petted. He bought you everything you wanted, hiring the best nannies for your care.”

“But he was still Sheev Palpatine the psychopath,” Kylo said through gritted teeth.

Rey looked at him sharply, but Maul nodded in agreement. “Rey was safe as long as her presence didn’t inconvenience the emperor.”

“How did my parents die?” she asked hesitantly.

Kylo wondered if it had been another car accident like the one that had taken the life of Rey’s grandmother. Perhaps Anakin was right when he said the Palpatine line was cursed.

“This is where things get ugly,” Maul warned her.

“I’m ready,” Rey said, clutching Kylo’s hand.

“Your father was so focused on the fallout of his relationship with his dad that he failed to realise the real danger came from someone else. While Dathan and Mira began their new life, Snoke was falling apart. His mind began to unravel, his desperation for the one person that kept him grounded growing all consuming. Until one day he snapped.”

“What happened?” Kylo asked.

“What do you think happens when a boy brought up in blood and violence has no way of escape? Snoke wanted to bring Dathan home, and in his eyes Mira was standing between him and his brother. We don’t know what went down exactly, but Dathan and Mira were found dead in their bed. Snoke was there too, covered in blood and cradling his twin’s body.”

“Oh my God,” Rey whispered. She turned to stare at the man dozing not ten feet away from her. “Snoke murdered my parents? Where was I?”

“Asleep in your bedroom. Snoke used a silenced weapon and you didn’t even stir.”

“What the hell, Maul?”

Kylo took Rey’s flushed face in his hands, turning her gaze back to him. “Hold on to me, princess.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest. Tears slipped down her cheeks, and Kylo stroked her hair as she wept.

“You’ve heard enough,” he said as his shirt grew damp. "The rest can wait."

“No,” Rey told him, using her fingers to wipe her eyes. Her hazel gaze was curiously flat, but her words were firm. “We’ve come this far, Kylo. I need to know everything.”

Maul harumphed loudly, looking at Kylo for permission to continue.

Fuck, was all he could think. Rey would never forgive him if he forced her to walk away, and Kylo nodded at the other man to continue.

“Sheev spent a ton of money hiding Snoke’s involvement in Dathan and Mira’s deaths. He brought his son back to the manor and the guards were instructed to keep Snoke on the grounds. It was a house arrest of sorts.”

“Wow, that makes it so much better,” Rey spoke with bitter sarcasm.

Maul’s shoulders slumped, weighed down by the knowledge of unforgiveable acts. “Sheev went on to adopt you, Rey. Personally, I would have raised you somewhere other than the manor where Snoke lived, but the emperor wanted to keep a close eye on his fractured family.”

“Snoke hurt me,” Rey mumbled, the memory of black gloved hands coalescing into a clearer picture. “I got in his way one day and he snapped. My grandfather arrived just in time to save me.”

“It’s why Sheev asked me to be present whenever you and Snoke interacted,” Maul said. “Snoke’s mind was so broken by Dathan’s death that I don’t think he realised you were his niece.”

“Why did Snoke kidnap me?” Kylo asked, wanting to get to the end of Maul’s grim tale.

“Even though they were now rivals, Sheev was still obsessed with his former protégé Anakin Skywalker. Dathan was dead and Snoke unbalanced, so he saw Anakin as his last opportunity for some kind of legacy. Anakin, in the meantime, was showing up all over the news talking about his adored hockey prodigy grandson Ben Solo.” Maul chuffed quietly. “I’m not sure if Snoke kidnapped you to force Anakin’s hand, or if he resented the familial bond between you and your grandfather, but one night Snoke escaped the estate and took you.”

“So my kidnapping was the act of a madman?” Kylo demanded. “There was no rhyme nor reason?”

“I’m sorry,” Maul grunted. “Snoke’s been delusional for years.”

“He needs professional help. The maniac tried to kill Rey.”

“But not for the reasons you think,” Maul spoke quickly.

Rey twitched at Kylo’s side. “What do you mean?”

“When Kylo shot and killed Sheev, Snoke was there to witness the event. It fractured his psyche even further. He’d grown to hate his father, and in a strange way, Kylo set Snoke free.” Maul took a shaky breath. “I think he saw you as his saviour.”

Kylo struggled to understand. “Snoke tortured me. Chained me up. Whipped my back until my flesh was bloody ribbons.”

Rey cupped his face with one hand. “Your scar.”

“The whip caught my face, splitting it open” Kylo explained. “I didn’t know it was Snoke in the basement with me at the time because he wore a mask.”

“His feelings for you changed when Sheev was killed at your hand,” Maul insisted. “My warning that night at the club wasn’t because I was afraid you would hurt Rey, Kylo, or because I wanted to hurt either one of you. It was to save Rey from Snoke.”

“That makes no sense.”

“After Sheev’s death, Snoke was left with no one to love. He transferred his twisted affections to the young man who killed his abuser, and those affections have only grown stronger over the years.”

“All this time… Snoke wasn’t watching Rey,” Kylo said, stunned.

Maul nodded, his expression bleak. “Snoke has spent the last ten years of his life stalking Ben Solo.”

Chapter Text

Rey’s mind felt like a bowl of soup, thick and gloopy.

Where to begin? She’d just discovered that the love of her life had murdered her grandfather in cold blood and right in front of her eyes. That she had an uncle, her father’s twin, who’d killed her mom and dad. And then there was the grandfather who didn’t really love her after all. At least, not in the way a normal man should love his grandchild. And now she was learning the only reason Snoke had come after her was because he’d become obsessed with the man known as Kylo Ren.

As far as personal histories went, her family’s story was a tragedy of epic proportions.

A headache was developing behind her left eye, a low throb that was growing stronger by the minute. Rey shut her eyes, wanting to ease the pain. And just like that, a memory unlocked in her mind.

“Pappy, we have to help Ben!” Everything was going to be alright. Her grandfather was here.

“Get away from him, Rey.”

Rey stared at her pappy. She’d never seen the look on his face before. And what was that in his hand? Why was he holding a gun?

“Sheev, wait,” Maul spoke, appearing by her grandfather’s side. “Maybe there’s another way around this. You had nothing to do with Ben’s kidnapping, so we just need to tell the cops the truth. Snoke is a damaged young man grieving the death of his best friend and he snapped…”

“No!” her grandfather snarled. “I will not have the Palpatine dynasty brought into disrepute!” Pappy lifted the gun and a sharp click sounded in the night air as he drew back the switch. Rey had been taught gun safety and she knew this was bad. “Besides, I can’t have Snoke being interviewed by the authorities. He’s buried too many bodies at my instruction.” He pointed the gun at Ben.

No, not Ben. Pappy didn’t understand. Ben was her prince!

Rey wrapped skinny arms around Ben’s waist, shielding him. “Leave him alone.”

“What’s this?” pappy said, mouth smiling but eyes cold. “You seem to have ensnared my granddaughter, young Solo. The Skywalker charisma truly is a wonder to behold.”

Maul took a step towards them. “I’ll remove the girl.”

“Wait,” pappy said. “How’s this for a headline? Tragedy strikes when Skywalker’s heir sneaks onto Palpatine estate for payback.”

“What are you talking about?” Ben demanded, blood streaming from his wound.

Pappy cackled like the Wicked Witch of the West. “Anakin will be destroyed knowing you’ve been branded a child killer in your death. I could concoct a story about how Rey stumbled across us while you were threatening me with a gun. You accidentally shot and killed my poor grandchild, and in my grief I wrestled the weapon from your hand and shot you in turn.”

Rey felt Ben grab her by skinny shoulders, pushing her behind him. Protecting her. “You’re a madman. How could you think of harming your own flesh and blood?”

“I’ve done worse,” pappy smirked.

“How will you explain my wounds?” Ben argued desperately. “It doesn’t fit the narrative.”

Pappy shrugged. “My guards handled you too roughly. These things happen.”

“Pappy?” Rey whispered, her childish mind unable to accept what was happening.

This time when he lifted the gun it was aimed at her.

Ben moved faster than she’d ever seen, launching himself in the air and pushing her grandfather to the ground. The gun was knocked free and Ben’s bloody fingers wrapped around it. His hand trembled as it went off, a bullet lodging in pappy’s chest. Blood bloomed like a scarlet flower.

Rey screamed. Maul stood frozen. A figure started forward from the shadows.

Ben picked her up and ran.

“Rey? Where did you go, princess?” Kylo was holding her in his arms.

She stared at him with tear-filled eyes. “I remember, Kylo. The night you shot pappy… my grandfather tried to kill me.” This was why he’d been so reluctant to tell her the truth about the night they met. This was the real darkness he’d been hiding from her. The fact that Sheev Palpatine was willing to murder his own grandchild to destroy Anakin Skywalker.

“Mira, is that you?” Snoke was awake and on his feet, his expression stunned. He looked like he was seeing Rey for the first time. “Don’t cry, Mira. Father is gone now. He can’t hurt us anymore.”

“I’m not Mira.” Rey wiped away tears with the backs of her hands. “I’m not my mother.”

“It’s okay,” Snoke murmured, reaching inside a pocket in his hoodie and pulling out a switchblade. “Ben Solo saved us.”

“Damn it all the hell,” Kylo muttered. “How many knives does this guy have?”

Rey fought the sudden hysterical desire to giggle.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” Snoke murmured. “Father asked me to kill you and bring Dathan home, but I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Sheev ordered you to kill Mira?” Maul choked out.

Rey grew numb hearing this final piece of the puzzle. Of course that’s what happened. The beloved pappy of her dreams was the true villain all along. Snoke, Maul, Dathan… even her mother, they were all puppets in Sheev’s theatre of death, dancing to the same macabre tune he’d chosen.

“I thought you wanted to hurt Ben, but you’ve come back to protect him,” Snoke spoke dreamily. “You’re his angel.”

“Wha- No, I-”

“Thank you, Mira.” Snoke smiled, giving his sunken face a lopsided appearance. “I can rest now.”

Rey watched as the only other living Palpatine left on earth ran a switchblade across his throat, severing his jugular vein and bathing the room in a fountain of blood.

She awoke in a mammoth bed covered in sleek black satin sheets a few hours later. Her head felt like a bowling ball and her mouth was dry, but she forced herself to sit up.

“Hey, you,” Kylo said, scooting closer from where he’d been leaning against the headboard reading a book. “How are you feeling, princess?”

“This bed belongs in a porno. You know that, right?” she spoke grumpily.

He smirked. “You must be feeling better.”

“May I have a drink?”

Kylo stretched out a hand and tapped a panel, grabbing a bottle of sparkling lime water from a hidden minifridge. Rey drank thirstily, finishing half the bottle in one long swig. As soon as she’d quenched her thirst, he pulled her onto his lap.

Rey sighed and snuggled willingly against Kylo’s broad chest. “I can’t believe I passed out.”

“I can. The mind can only take so much.”

“Is Snoke… gone?” she asked hesitantly.

Kylo kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry, yes.”

“Maybe it’s better this way.”

“Maybe.”

“I wish…” She shook her head. “Actually, I don’t know what I wish. My family is royally messed up.”

“To put it mildly.” They sat in silence for a minute before Kylo asked, “Are you glad you know all the gory details?”

She considered his question. “I think so. The not knowing was starting to drive me crazy.”

“I grilled Maul while we were waiting for the cops and ambulance to arrive,” Kylo said. “He claimed he was trying to protect you by sending you away, that with Sheev dead he didn’t trust Snoke with your safekeeping. Maul bribed an official to have you inserted into the foster system without your family history. Apparently Sheev kept your existence so quiet he didn’t think anyone would come looking for you.”

“Bastard,” Rey muttered. “Being bounced around foster homes is the last way to protect a child.”

“I know,” Kylo said, stroking her hair. “There might have been some truth to Maul’s explanation, but the man’s an opportunist. With you out of the way and Snoke non compos mentis, Maul was able to control the Palpatine family wealth from behind the scenes.”

“Maul should have taken better care of Snoke,” Rey said, unaccountably sad that her uncle was dead even if he had tried to kill her. He was as much a victim in all this as she was.

“I suspect Maul grew complacent about their living situation. Snoke stalked me for years but kept his distance, so Maul stopped worrying about him. He only realised you found me because our relationship agitated Snoke and Maul decided to investigate. Snoke was jealous of the new girl hanging around me, but Maul recognised who you were straight away.” Kylo frowned. “You’re right about Maul’s duty of care. There was more than enough money to hire a nurse to watch over Snoke, but Maul didn’t even do that.”

“It’s still weird to realise my family’s rich. All those nights eating box mac n cheese when I could have been having steak,” Rey said in a lame attempt at humour.

“Maul tried to keep the Palpatine empire running but he wasn’t actually Sheev’s heir and things grew complicated. Meanwhile Snoke was too befuddled to appear in front of the board of directors to officially hand over power.”

“Maul didn’t get a slice of my grandfather’s estate?”

“No, princess. You’re Palpatine’s only heir.”

Rey sucked in a breath, lifting her head to look at Kylo. “What?”

“The money’s all yours.”

She shook her head. “There can’t be much left.”

“You’d be surprised,” Kylo said. “The house alone is worth millions of dollars.”

Rey scowled. “I never want to set foot in that awful place again.”

“Not a problem,” he smirked, his flippant tone calming her down. “Think of Palpatine’s money as your father Dathan’s inheritance. You can use it to do some good in the world.”

She blinked. “You’re right.”

“Of course, I am.”

“Nice to see you’re as humble as always,” Rey sighed.

“What’s there to be humble about? I’m a millionaire pro hockey player with great hair.”

She burst out laughing and threw her arms around Kylo. “You,” she murmured against his chin.

“Me?”

“You’re the only good thing to come from this whole sordid misadventure.”

He grinned. “I intend on keeping you too, Miss Palpatine.”

She flinched.

“Too soon?”

Rey laughed and kissed her big bad hockey player boyfriend on the mouth.

“Oh, by the way,” Kylo murmured as they started removing each other’s clothes, “my family want to meet you.”

Rey groaned out loud, but the idea also delighted her. Her little hands stroked Kylo’s meaty pecs as soon as he unbuttoned his shirt. “How does Anakin feel about us?”

Kylo stripped off her bralette and cupped a quivering breast, rolling her pink nipple between thumb and forefinger. “Grandpa said the last time he saw a man look at a woman the way I looked at you, he was yelling at my father Han to stay away from my mother Leia.”

Rey bit her lower lip as he manipulated a tender bud. “What does that mean?”

“Trust me,” Kylo grinned, “it’s a good thing. My family don’t do calm and rational love affairs. My grandfather would be disappointed if my girlfriend wasn’t a little scandalous.”

“O-kay.” Her back arched as he continued to play with her breasts, his touch uncharacteristically gentle.

“Princess…”

“Yeah?”

“You’ve had a really big day.”

She moaned as he tugged on a nipple. “S-so?”

“I don’t do soft and easy, remember? If you need to tap out, you have to tell me now. Because once we start, I’m not stopping until my cock’s shoved so far up your pussy you can taste me on your tongue.”

“Ugh, you’re such a pig sometimes,” she muttered, but the words came out breathless instead of upset.

He drew back, big hands sliding off her slim form.

No. No, no, no!

“Don’t you dare stop, you sasquatch!” Rey shrieked, hooking an ankle around his hip.

Kylo chuckled, low and husky. “I may be a sasquatch, but I’m your sasquatch.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “Make me your good girl, Kylo.”

He lunged at her so fast the breath was knocked out of her lungs. And considering everything she’d just been through, this was a far better end than she’d expected.