Chapter 7

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The following day, Kylo rose early and ran laps before the camp awoke. He was dressed and ready to receive Rey when her carriage arrived at the barracks and even went as far as to hold her hand as he helped her down. Rey rewarded him with a smile that could have replaced the sun beating down on them. He tried to remind himself thoughts like that didn't help the current situation. He needed to remain vigilant. There was a reason Rey had made a fuss about visiting the barracks. He needed to find out what that reason was. As they walked, Rose developed a sprained ankle and excused herself. Kylo looked at Hux who had been following them closely, he nodded and followed Rose as she headed back to one of the preparation tents.

His men were very curious to see Rey. It was the first time a woman had visited the barracks and the first time they had ever seen a woman accompany their General. They tried to sneak glances at her when they thought their commander wasn't looking. Kylo balled his hands into fists. He didn't like the men looking at Rey but she was impossible to ignore, dressed in a long yellow flowing gown, she smiled at everyone they saw and asked questions about all aspects of the camp.

Surely she wasn't interested in learning about these things. What use were they to her? Kylo fought hard to keep his cool and tolerate the men's interest in his wife. It was natural of course that they would be drawn to her arrival. It was as natural as his desire to kill each and every one of them for daring to look at her. It didn't mean anything...it was just a primal instinct and a feeling of ownership.

He managed to keep his feelings relatively under control, and only slipped up once when Rey tripped and one of his men instinctively reached for her, in a flash of lightning and showing a glimpse of his impressive skill set, Kylo placed himself in front of Rey and caught her before she could fall into the arms of another man. Then he realised his mistake. He had to stop touching her. It was as addictive as a drug. She felt so soft, so warm, what would it feel like to kiss her? Even better he suspected. Now there was a dangerous thought...

"You can let me up now," Rey whispered gently and Kylo realised he was still holding her dipped over his arm and he was leaning tantalisingly close to her lips. He flipped her upright with one smooth move and reluctantly let go. Rey blushed in return.

"Thank you for saving me," she said softly, looking down at her feet.

Kylo bowed slightly and they continued walking. Rose rejoined them as they retired to Kylo's tent for tea, something Kylo would never normally do, and had only allowed due to Rey's presence. Kylo noticed Rey looked at his cot with interest as they sat down at the makeshift table in his tent. Was she imagining him sleeping there? The thought made his heart pulse. After a few sips of her tea, Rey asked the question he had been expecting since noting where her gaze was directed.

"Do you sleep here often?"

Kylo nodded in response. Did she look...disappointed by his answer? Surely not.

"Will you be sleeping here tonight?"

He was ready to confirm it. It was on the tip of his tongue but something prevented him.

"I will sleep at the manor tonight."

She smiled and he panicked. He had expected a battle...at the very least an argument...but a smile? That had caught him completely off guard.

"We need to...get used to each other's company for the sake of the advisor," he said quietly by way of an explanation then cursed himself for only telling her a half truth, but then he still needed to know if he could trust her fully.

She nodded and offered him a small smile. "I see."

After tea, Finn allowed Rey to hold his sword for a moment. Kylo saw the flash in her eyes as she gripped the handle and her gaze ran over the cool steel. This was not the first time she had held a weapon. Finn folded his arms over his puffed out chest as he observed her.

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