Temptation Of Grey

Chapter 11 - Liquid Heat

Ben tried to get to the point in the rock that marked the narrow entrance to the discovered cave as quickly as possible. But he had to be careful that he did not slip along with Rey, who was still calm - too calm - limp in his arms, on the now wet by the onset of snow wet rocky ground.

He had no trouble carrying her, but as time progressess he lowly worried about her body temperature, which seemed to be steadily sinking despite the warmer jacket, as she did not move even in the cold.

When he had finally reached the point, previously discovered by the force, he could initially hardly discover the narrow gap in the rock due to heavy snowfall. However, as he approached, he saw, to his relief, that the gap would be wide enough for them to get through. He shifted Rey's position in his arms and cautiously pushed her through the entrance into the cave.

At the other side of the entrance, firdt cool darkness came to him. He closed his eyes briefly and let his senses explore the size of the cave. When he opened his eyes again and his pupils got used to the other light conditions, he realized that the cave was dimly lit by slight interruptions in the rock. Parts of the coarse walls were made of crystal-like rocks, reflecting the faint light. He could now orient himself with the naked eye.

Rey suddenly groaned softly and stirred. She seemed to come to herself again. At the same time, however, her limbs began to shake uncontrollably from the cold. He had to warm her up as soon as possible so she could recover, he thought worriedly. He went deeper into the large entrance of the cave and discovered on one side three smaller corridors that led further into the rock.

Ben closed his eyes again, sending his senses through the corridors until he found what he was looking for. There! Soft lapping and gurgling! He opened his eyes and stormed into the hall to his left. After a few meters, he could already hear the movement of the water with his normal hearing and the corridor gradually filled with warm haze. Another bend later, the cave opened again into a larger room.

In the ceiling, daylight and some snowflakes fell through a slightly larger gap, but they dissolved halfway to the floor, because the room was much warmer than the rest of the previous cave. The crystals on the walls made sure that at least enough light was scattered to light up the room.

The water had flowed out of a great crevice in the rock in one corner of the room and spilled out into a kind of larger tub that had naturally shaped by the water into the stone over the course of centuries.

Ben hurried over to it, put the meanwhile rattling teeth Rey carefully on the floor and checked the water temperature. Fortunately, it was pleasantly warm and probably the reason why the cave also had the warm air temperature at this point.

Ben quickly pulled off his wet jacket and began quickly removing Rey's soaked shoes and clothes. Suddenly he hesitated and paused. Wasn't it immoral to do so without her consent? He blushed briefly, then shook his head vigorously. Here it was not about propriety and morality, it was about her health and he could not put her fully clothed in the pool, because her clothes had to somehow dry again.

As he touched her icy-cold hands, he shoved past doubts aside, pulling off her clothes except for her undershirt and -pants. Then he freed himself from his boots and his shirt, but after a few seconds left his own trousers on, quickly took Rey in his arms and climbed into the warm water with her.

The heat was initially a shock to his skin and he bit his teeth for a moment, but relaxed after a few moments. He dipped Rey into the warm water as far as the pool allowed. Only her head held over water to allow her to breathe freely. After a few minutes her tremor stopped and her entire body seemed to relax.

Ben breathed in relief. He positioned himself on a slight elevation in the tub, pulled Rey to him and leaned his upper body and head against the coarse rock wall behind him. Rey's head rested securely in his crook, now breathing regularly.

He looked closely at her even face and enjoyed the peace and quiet he felt, now that there was no danger to her health anymore. He brushed back the soft wet strands, which had come loose from her braid and now got wet on her face, with gentle fingers. It filled him with strange satisfaction, holding her in his arms, protecting her. He slowly closed his eyes and allowed himself and his muscles a moment of relaxation.

Rey floated in a warm cloud of satisfaction. Her body was completely relaxed. Her mind, however, was exhausted, as if it had fought an inhumane battle. She could not get her bearings and her brain could not send effective commands to her body. So her eyes closed and her arms and legs remained motionless. The warmth that surrounded her was damp and weightless. Only her head and hips rested on something even warmer, firm ground and something warm and rough stroked her face gently for a few moments. Her ears heard rippling noises. 'Ah, warm water, as Ben had predicted,' she thought, smiling happily.

After a while her eyes opened and she stared at a dark rocky ceiling with strange bright crystals in the rocks. She frowned in surprise, her gaze wandering to one side and remained hanging on the seemingly sleeping Ben, in whose bare arms she was lying. She froze when she realized that not only his arms but his entire upper body was unclothed. Then she noticed that she was naked too, except for her thin linen shirt and matching pants that could barely hide her nudity.

As her eyes flew back up, Ben stared directly at her. His dark eyes were almost black in the dim light of the cave. She blushed and he ... too ... as she noted in astonishment. But he did not look away but said softly, "I hope you forgive me, but I had to worry about your body temperature rising again and so ..." he cleared his throat slightly "well... we ended up here ...".

She did not look away, just returned his serious look and, as her limbs obeyed her again, she raised her hand to his face and gently put it to his cheek, "Thank you for helping me," she said simply. She felt only a gentle electric energy this time where her hand hit his cheek, as if the Force knew that now was not the time for a strong presence.

A twitch ran through Ben's body as Rey touched his cheek, as if she had given him a slight electric shock. It did not hurt, it only brought every cell of his body to life and made her pulsate. The seconds passed and both seemed to regenerate their skin through this connection. Ben felt his stressed muscles revitalize and Rey felt her energy re-enter her body.

"Is it possible that we are watching each other .... healing? "she asked with wide eyes and sat up in his lap without removing his hand from his cheek. "It seems so ... I feel it too" was the only thing he could say, too amazing was this experience.

In addition, other feelings added to his astonishment that had less to do with healing and more with desire. He could also see this change in her perception, her beautiful face only a few inches away from his and he had to control himself not to kiss her again. 'Why did she have that power over him?' He thought in amazement. He could not let that happen, he could not afford that. That would only make a difficult situation a disaster!

Despite this thought, he had leaned closer to her and Rey held her breath in anticipation of his kiss. He tightened his grip on her back and she could feel every finger of his hand through the thin fabric of her tunic. At the same time, she stroked his cheek with her fingers and was astonished as a light goose bumps spread over his neck and arms. She could not move under his dark gaze, which had now pinned to her lips.

But at the last moment, however, he retreated, lifting her from his lap, loosening her connection, and taking as much distance from her as the pool allowed.

"Stay in the warm water for a while. I'll take care of the fire and the drying of our clothes. "He said brusquely and jumped out of the warm pool. Rey put her arms around her chest and remained heavily breathing and confused.