Rey, Gwen, and Rose stood in front of the onscreen schedule at Crystal Ice Arena, gaping at the three-on-three pairing they had received from the rink. As women hockey players, they should be teamed with another group of women at the same level of play.

"The Knights of Ren?" Rose said. "We can't play them for this scrimmage."

"Why not?" Rey said. "We have Gwen. She's as tall as Kylo Ren. He who names a team after himself." She laughed, shaking her head.

"Knights, huh," Gwen said. "I'll knight them." She was close to six feet tall and muscular as hell. A fierce player on the ice.

"Those dudes are pretty crazy," Rose said. "I don't know why you want us paired with them."

"For the glory," Rey said. "And, anyway, I didn't request them. Usually, the rink just randomly pairs groups." She laughed and poked Rose. "Don't worry about it. We can take them. They are just boys, basically. Grown boys, but, you know, boys."

"Ok, well, if you girls are sure," Rose said, hoisting her bag. "Locker room 1, of course." It was the only locker room designated for women at the rink. They had all spent a lot of time in it. Fortunately, they had made it livable with a good scrubbing and some serious incense.

The outside door blew open. The freezing draft ripped through the foyer of the arena. It was an icy blast that shivered Rey's senses.

She looked over. He strode in, hockey bag on his shoulder, big stick in his hand. Kylo Ren, tall as ever, big as life. In two giant strides, he walked up to the board. His buddies, Finn and Poe, came in behind him with their bags and sticks.

"Where are we, Kylo?" Finn asked.

"Locker Room 2," Kylo said in a deep, dark voice.

Rey had seen this giant man often at the rink. In his skates, he was at least six foot six. At least. He was long and lean and wore all black in every beer league game. He and his buddies, Finn and Poe, were the heart of their league. They tended to take their hockey way more seriously than the others, who played for the brewskis and the bragging rights.

Poe looked at the board. "Who is that?"

Gwen and Rose were just about to walk away. Rey stopped, though, to see what kind of reaction these boys would have to a co-ed three-on-three.

Finn read off the screen. "Half-ice scrimmage with the Knights of Ren and Rey's Herricanes. That's weird, they spelled it wrong."

Rey interjected, "It's not wrong. The Her-ricanes…get it?"

Poe and Finn looked at each other. "Pardon?" said Finn.

"Her…i…canes," Rey said slowly.

Finn rolled his eyes. "Oh, I get it."

"Took you long enough," Rose said.

Kylo cleared his throat. "It's ok," he said, looking at Rey. "If Rey of Sunshine here wants to get spanked, we can do that."

There was a chorus of whoa's from the others.

Gwen stepped up and almost looked Kylo in the eyes. "Bring it, friend. We aren't afraid. I'm just as big and bad as you."

Kylo Ren looked among the three women. He said nothing but tapped the butt of his stick on the ground.

"Aww, Kylo, this game's gonna suck," Finn said. "We can't do shit with these girls."

Kylo said nothing. He tapped his stick again. "What would you like to do with them, Finn?"

Poe said, "Uh, check them into the boards like real and actual hockey players."

"Hey," Rose said, "We are real, actual hockey players. We check in our leagues, too, ya big butthead."

Rey walked up to Kylo. Kylo's eyes snapped to hers. "Knight of Ren, you can play with us if you like. But I am the baddest of them all. I will take you down." She was not afraid of this creature, mask or no.

"Let's go, gentlemen," Kylo said. "Looks like they want to go down. Ladies. See you out there." He touched Rey's face with one big hand.

She would have swatted it away but didn't feel like giving him the satisfaction of knowing he had elicited a reaction.

He walked off, whistling anyway.

Rey had never gotten dressed so quickly in all her life. She snapped the clear tape around her leg pads like she was on fire. She had to get out there and beat some big boy ass.

The women skated out on half ice for the warm-ups. Rey enjoyed the swooshing sound of her skates as she pumped her legs across the ice. It was a bummer that they only had half ice, but other three-on-three teams were also playing and there were only two sheets available to rent. The rink could have four teams play at a time if they did half-ice. It wasn't much room for the big boys, but Rey considered that an advantage. They couldn't skate with such long strides and would be forced to rely on stick work and technique instead speed.

Rey watched Kylo Ren stomp out to the ice, all geared up, skates and pads on tight, helmet strapped to his head. His black waves peeked out from under the back of the helm. Rey admired his sleek skating style and his ease on the ice. But she had to beat the hell out of this man's team.

They flipped a coin to see who got the puck. Of course, it was the Knights. Kylo took it to the goal, but Gwen swept in and pushed Kylo to the side, so his shot went wild and bounced off the pipe.

Rey caught the puck on her stick and barreled to the other side. Finn stopped her by feinting to one side and nipping the puck away.

Back and forth the teams went, skidding, snow-plowing, and sneaking the puck away from each other.

Kylo used his size to corner Rey along the boards. He pinned her tight, while she fought to maintain control of the puck.

"Poe," he yelled.

Rey tried elbowing Kylo, which was illegal, but she was desperate. Plus, her elbow met his waist where his hockey pants were. He probably never felt it all.

Poe rescued the puck from Rey. She growled at Kylo and he shouted, "Give it up, girlie," as he skated away.

"Never," she hollered back.

The Knights hit their stride and whizzed the puck right by the Herricanes. Kylo was on fire as he slammed the thing into the net with a huge slapshot. Rey had to jump to miss being hit in her boot. She landed on her skates, fortunately, but turned to stare at the giant man skating toward her. He showered her with ice and snow with a snowplow stop.

"Funny," she said, breathing hard.

"Ready to call it, Rey of Sunshine?" he asked.

"No." With that, she rammed him with her stick in a highly illegal cross check. He was not expecting it and staggered back. He caught himself before he fell on his ass and stared at her through his visor. Then he rushed her and slammed her on the ice. She lay there, giggling madly. Between the hockey gear and adrenaline, she felt nothing.

"Penalty box for you, girlie," he said, grabbing her glove and lifting her up. He didn't even put her down on her skates. He carried her over his shoulder to the team's box. He sat her on the edge and put his visor in her face.

"Do that again, Rey, and I will slapshot you into the net."

Rey laughed. "You can try."

She jumped down and skated off. Just for good measure, in the next five-minute period, Rey managed to check both Finn and Poe and knock them on their asses with two completely legal hits. She didn't have their weight, but she was fast and fearless. She caught them unawares, which was her usual tactic.

The Herricanes scored a goal with the boys down. Kylo couldn't stop Gwen alone. Gwen took a victory lap, waving her stick.

The buzzer sounded much too soon for Rey's taste. The teams were tied. The others skated off the ice, ribbing each other. The men were fist-bumping each other and the women were doing victory dances.

Rey stayed behind to grab the puck.

She motioned to Kylo. "Shoot out," she hollered.

They heard the Zamboni in the background.

"No," he said. "They are resurfacing. We have to get off the ice. You are way too reckless a player, and you've been making illegal moves throughout this whole damn game." He skated over to move the closest net back to a corner. He turned and shouted, "You need some discipline."

"I am not reckless, you giant creature in a mask," Rey yelled.

She gritted her teeth and shot the puck into the net with all her might. It missed the net and came right at Kylo. It came in low on him. He took a full force puck in his inner thigh, at the weakest part of his leg pads. In fact, there was no padding there at all.

Rey hadn't meant to hurt him. He fell on the ice, holding his leg, gritting his teeth.

"Kylo, I'm so sorry." Rey skated to him and knelt. She touched his arm, though he couldn't feel it.

She tried to help him up, but he waved her away. "I will be fine," he said, limping as he skated.

Rey didn't know whether to leave him alone or follow him to the locker room. She stood undecided, chewing her lip and watching him. He said nothing but painfully, slowly walked into the locker room.

Rey told the other women what happened. They were already undressed and packed.

Rose said, "Was he mad?" She shivered. "I wouldn't want that guy mad at me."

Gwen looked sympathetic. "Hey, don't sweat. All's fair in hockey."

Rey raised her eyes to look at Gwen. "He had just told me I was too reckless. Then I fucking nailed him. It wasn't like a hit during a game. I was screwing around. Shit."

The women patted her shoulder as she began to peel off her pads.

"I have to get going now," Rose said. "But, Rey, it will be ok. He's not dead. Just mad." She and Gwen exchanged looks.

"That may mean I'm dead," Rey muttered.

"See you later. Call me," Gwen said.

They left Rey alone in the locker room, kicking off the rest of her gear.

She heard the boys laughing and jostling outside the door of the women's locker room. She peeked out and saw Finn and Poe.

They stopped mid-laugh.

"Is he ok?" Rey said.

"Oh, he's fine," Finn said. "But that's gonna leave a mark."

"Mad as a wet hen," Poe said. "He wouldn't tell us the whole story, but that bruise is swelling up pretty good. What the fuck did you do to him?"

"Aw, shit," Rey said. "Shit." She packed her stuff slowly, feeling wretched. Kylo was a good man. He didn't deserve to be whacked in the thigh with a puck. She had been hit before and it hurt like hell.

An ice pack. Rey suddenly realized that she could get one from the concession stand. She ran jogged out of the locker room and ran up to the guy behind the counter.

"Hey, Hux, you got an ice pack?"
Hux looked her up and down. "Yeah, what'd you girls hurt? You never should have been playing the Knights of Ren. That's just nuts."

"I nailed Kylo on the thigh," she said, taking the pack from Hux. "I'm not hurt."

He sucked air between his teeth. "Oh, that's gotta hurt."

Rey nodded and skipped off to the men's locker room. She knocked hesitantly, ice in hand. There was no answer. She poked her head in. "Kylo?" Nothing.

She heard the shower running. She caught her lip in her teeth. Should she nip in and leave the ice pack for him? She wasn't allowed to be in the mens' locker room at all. There were strict rules at the rink.

No one else was in the room. His gear was by itself. She decided that she could get in and out without a problem.

Of course, she was wrong. As she was leaning down to place the ice pack near his equipment, she heard the shower stop. Before she could react, Kylo Ren walked out, rubbing his hair with an impossibly small towel. Beads of water dripped down his chest and into the soft nest of hair where his…

Rey squeaked. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," she said. "I brought you an ice pack." She turned her back on him.

"Thanks," he said in a soft, low voice.

She heard him drying himself, rubbing that tiny towel all over his body. She closed her eyes and tried not to imagine him wet and naked.

She heard him chuckle and pick up the ice pack. "Well, Rey of Sunshine, you managed to mark me as yours," he said. "I think we just got hockey married."

Rey whipped around. "What?"

He had pulled on some shorts and was rubbing deodorant under his arms. "Want to see the ring?"

Rey couldn't help herself. She stepped closer. He showed her the big red mark on the inside of his thigh. It looked like a red circle, darker red on the outside and lighter inside. It was turning a shade of purple.

"I am so sorry," Rey said in horror, looking at the painful mark. She reached out a hand without thinking.

"Would you like to touch my thigh, Rey?"

She looked up and drowned in his tawny eyes. His black hair was tousled and damp. His lips were full, with a small smile growing on them. He was gorgeous.

"Uh, no," she said, softly, staring at his face.

He grinned. He didn't seem to believe her. "Hmmm," he said. "I believe you owe me something for marking me. Now that I'm yours, you need to give me something."

Rey's brows snapped together. "I am not yours," she said. Then she felt her blush rising. "I'm not yours, I mean."

The man laughed out loud and slapped his other, uninjured leg. "This is worth all the pain, my Rey of Sunshine."

She ground her teeth. "You know what I mean. You're not mine."

"We'll see," he said. "You gave me a ring. It counts for something."

"I'm not even supposed to be in here," Rey said. "Someone might be wanting to get in."

Kylo stood up, walked to the door, and with a quick twist, turned the lock.

Rey's mouth went dry. "Now, look here."

He walked toward her. "Not gonna hurt you, Rey." He stood in front of her with his bare chest and legs. She gulped and looked upward about fifty feet into his face. "I'm just making sure you feel comfortable when I kiss you."

"Um," Rey said.

Kylo took her hand, sat himself on the bench, and pulled Rey on his lap. She didn't think to fight him. She didn't even want to try.

His big hand slid into her hair.

"You're showered and I'm sweaty," she said, looking at him cautiously.

"A little seasoning," he said.

Then he kissed her. Slowly at first, a simple touch of lips. He pulled back to look at her.

"Is this ok with you?"

She nodded.

He said, "Good." He pulled her close and she met his lips with abandon.

They kissed hard and long, tongues twining. He was delicious and warm. He murmured sweet words to her about her taste as he kissed her deeper and deeper.

"Kylo," she whispered.

"I need to taste more of your salt," he said. He sat her on the bench and knelt in front of her.

"Oh," she said, when he tugged her jeans and panties down. She was sure someone would be knocking on the door of the locker room any minute.

"Home?" she asked.

He shook his head. "You owe me," he said.

He buried his face between her legs, licking her slowly while she stifled soft moans.

She dug her hands in his hair. "Someone will…" She couldn't talk, much less think.

"Your fault, my love." He stopped licking to look at her. "You marked me as yours and you owe me for hurting me."

He teased her with his tongue until she had trouble keeping herself quiet. He focused his loving attention on her favorite spot. Her release came soon after. He clapped a big hand over her mouth to stop her outcry.

Rey slumped on Kylo's shoulder. "Kylo," she said.

"Yes," he said.

"Do it all," Rey panted. "I need it all."

He pulled himself out of his shorts while Rey scooted to the edge of the seat. He fitted himself into her slowly. She had trouble again being quiet, so he covered her lips with his as he pressed into her. She bit his lips gently as he filled her.

He moved in her and circled her with a thumb until she came again. Then he pulled her to the ground where his abandoned black jersey lay. She lay legs spread wide while he pumped himself into her. She dug her hands in his damp hair and put her heels on his sexy behind.

Rey buried her head in his shoulder to stop from crying out. This man, this beautiful man was all hers and she reveled in the power she had to make him happy, to mark him, and to make him hers over and over again. He growled low and long in her hair as he came inside her.

Kylo raised himself up on an elbow and kissed her. "My Rey of Sunshine," he said.

This time, Rey did touch his thigh gently. He lay back to give her a good look. "Damn, I am so sorry. I did you in, didn't I? Are you really mad at me?"

Kylo sighed and rolled his eyes. "No more than usual, I guess. Girlie, you have got to be careful. I am not made out of iron. A couple of inches over and we would have been in real trouble. I'd be singing soprano right now and no little Rens would be in our future."

She pursed her lips and looked remorseful. "I need to be grounded from hockey."

"You are a damn menace," he agreed. "But you are my menace. We can still play, I guess, if you promise to harass that power shot of yours."

She smiled at him warmly and stretched. "I need a Gatorade. Want one?" she said. "I need to get off the floor of this gross-ass locker room, Kylo. For heaven's sake. Our locker room is so much nicer."

"You are the one who came in here," he said, packing his bag.

"Yeah, yeah, to think I was actually worried about you," she said.

"Get your shit," he called, unlocking the door.

Kylo had bought Rey a Gatorade and was swallowing his down when she came out with her gear.

Hux smiled at the two of them as Kylo put his arm around Rey. "Goodnight, Rens. See you another day. Hope your wife didn't do you in, Kylo."

Kylo raised one hand to Hux. "I'm all right."

"I didn't kill him this time. Just gave him a nice scar. Night, Hux," Rey said, hugging her beautiful husband close as they carried their gear to their waiting car.