Temptation Of Grey

Chapter 12 - Agitation

Rey sat upright in the warm steaming pool. She took advantage of the slightly elevated position where Ben had been sitting with her a few moments ago to sit comfortably against the rocks without getting too far out of the water. She watched for a while Ben's efficient way to do some necessary work.

He had unpacked their equipment within minutes, draped the wet clothes over some boulders and found dry wood in front of and inside the cave. At that moment he just lit a fire. The flames quickly blazed warm and inviting. "It's getting dark quickly," he suddenly said aloud to her, "I'll go out and look for more wood and material for a decent night camp, at this time you can..." he cleared his throat "um ... come out of the water and dry by the fire".

He laid a thin blanket and two dark garments within her reach and pulled himself straight back. Then he pulled his jacket over his bare torso and made his way. "Your clothes are still wet!" Rey exclaimed, "You can not go outside like this." He turned back to her and replied harshly: "I will not stay long and have experienced worse, so I'll get along." Then he went through the dark corridor on the other side of the cave towards the exit.

She stayed in the warm, steaming water for a few more minutes and enjoyed the damp heat and the weightlessness she felt floating in the water. It was also a bit decadent to bath in actually potable water and waste it like this. But she was not on Jakku anymore and Chandrila had plenty of water, so she decided that in that case, it was not a sin to enjoy the bath. She also dipped her hair and untied her braids to gently unravel and cleanse the long strands. It felt wonderful and she smiled relaxed and happy.

After a while, she ordered herself to leave the bath. She wanted to avoid it at all costs, that she would stand there dripping wet with only tunic and panties when Ben came back. So she cautiously got out of the water and shook her wet hair at first. Then she quickly took off the wet clothes she was still wearing and began to dry herself roughly with the thin blanket. She inspected the clothes Ben had left. It was his shirt, which had remained dry through the jacket he had been wearing, and some dry stockings, nothing more.

She knew that she could be glad to use any dry clothes at all. She pulled Ben's shirt over her head. The soft fabric smelled of him and was pleasantly warm on her skin. The hem almost went to her knees and the stockings were also huge. Nevertheless, she had the feeling to be virtually naked as her underwear was completely absent. She blushed a little bit and decided to watch her own clothes return as quickly as possible. Therefore, she also spread the wet laundry on the rock ledges already warmed by the fire. She laid firewood to keep the flames intense and sat down near the fire on the thin planket.

Lost in thought, she started combing her hair with her hands so they would not knot too much while drying. She was still slightly exhausted, but due to the strange energy exchange she had made with Ben in the warm water, she felt great compared to her condition as she entered the cave. She was still stunned by this latest discovery of their shared powers, wondering what they would otherwise learn as they progressed through the stages of evolution of the gray Jedi. As she sat there, deep in thought, her bare legs crossed, turned to the fire and combing her hair, she did not notice Ben step into the cave again.

Ben stopped in the cave entrance and watched Rey. Her slender, delicate body was almost completely covered by his shirt, only her bare legs looked out from the knees to the calves of the large garment. She sat sideways - almost with her back - to him, slowly untangling her long hair. He had never seen her with open hair. The brown thick strands were longer than her usual braid would suggest and fell wet and heavy over her shoulders. She raised her arms to comb the lower tips as well. His hands twitched at the thought of taking her work off and combing his own fingers through the dense brown mass of her curls.

His white shirt was rendered practically transparent by the glow of the fire and suddenly Ben got a pretty clear look at Rey's naked female curves under the fabric. He clenched his teeth as he promptly felt his physical response to this beautiful sight in the lumbar region and cursed inwardly. That would be a long night! Keeping her hands raised, she turned sideways to reach even the last strands of hair. Now he could see the tips of her small firm breasts through the illuminated fabric. He closed his eyes in agony and cleared his throat loudly.

She turned to him in astonishment and lowered her arms. "I'm back," he said unnecessarily. Unfortunately, he could not think of anything better, since his mind was still busy fighting his agitation. Rey looked at him neutrally, then with a slightly frowned forehead, as he said nothing more: "Are you all right, Ben?" she asked, rising from the floor in a smooth motion.

Now she stood before him in the reflection of the fire, clothed with his shirt and his socks, otherwise nothing .... he swallowed hard. She had to get out of that firelight, and fast, before he finally lost his mind! "Yes everything is OK." he said through clenched teeth, his left eye starting to twitch with effort ... effort not to go to her, not to touch her, not to pull her to his body and kiss her.

Rey felt his excitement but did not get it and instead asked him, "Has anything happened outside?" "No," he said simply, just staring at her. She frowned, examining him to see that he was even wetter than he already had. "You have to get out of these clothes," she said decisively, "before you too will be over-cooled." "Yes, you're right there," he replied - grateful to get a plausible explanation for his strange behavior. "I've found dry coniferous-wood that's good for the fire and we can use the branches for a reasonably comfortable bed for the night."

"Fine," she said, still hesitant because of his strange behavior, "bring the logs in. I'll take care of the wood and try to make a sleeping place for the night while you take off your wet clothes and get into the water." He just nodded, spun around and stalked back a few steps into the corridor to come back with three small but dense coniferous trees. He dropped the trunks in the middle of the room, turned his back on her, and took off his dripping wet jacket. He was shivering - because of his cold body, of course - she guessed...

She came up behind him and said, "Give me the jacket, I'll hang it to the other clothes." She felt him stiffen. The muscles on his wide spine, which was covered with battle scars, twitched tensely. "Rey, I ... could now tolerate some privacy if you do not mind!" he growled dismissively. She looked at his bare chest and suddenly became aware of her own incomplete clothing.

"Oh ... excuse me, of course," she whispered, suddenly understanding what his agitation, his trembling, and his rude demeanor meant. It was as if a gate had opened and revealed their feelings. 'He's probably intentionally opened up to scare me.' she thought. The problem was, she was not scared ... she was also agitated.

But she retreated before he could turn to her. Should I leave the cave for a while? "She asked him carefully. "No, it's too cold outside this room. Just turn around for a moment so I can get in the water." Now she blushed to the hairline and said quickly, "Of course!"

She turned in the direction of the fire and walked a few steps away, leaving more room for him. She heard the rustle of his clothes, then a lightly lapping followed by Ben's soft, satisfied moan as he plunged into the basin. This little satisfied sound from his throat elicited goose bumps on her arms. Now it was up to her to suppress rising heat in her body.

She shook her head slightly to clear her mind again and quickly gathered Ben's wet clothes to dry them on the fire. She used her laser sword to break up the conifers and separate the branches with the soft long needles from the firewood. Then she gathered up the branches in her arms and put them at the far end of the cave in the level corner by the fire to a sleeping place big enough for both of them. She faded the idea of having to spend the night in such close proximity to Ben and worked quickly and carefully.

Soon all branches were piled up to a rather soft surface. She unfolded two more blankets from their bags and put them over the soft needles. 'That's the way it should be,' she thought contentedly. Next she rummaged through the bags for food ration, opened two packs and poured the various powders contained in the rations into two bowls. She added water and placed the bowls directly on the fire so that the food's own automatic-generation could start.

She was so engrossed in her work that she almost forgot Ben's presence in the room, also because he seemed to be lying silently in the water. She was just about to start carrying the broken logs to the fire when his deep voice dissolved the silence: "Leave them, I'll take care of them later, you should try to relax a little bit again, the day was very exhausting for both of us."