The Pull to the Light

Chapter XXIV

Chiara found herself sitting crosslegged on Ben's bed, next to a stack of read books with one open on her lap. She chose not to return to her room, finding comfort in the room that, although he had been absent from it for weeks, still contained Ben's masculine scent.

As she closed the book she had been reading, Chiara's thoughts turned to Rey, Finn, and Han. The idea of them dying as a result of the organization that her love was the head was too much for her to bear. Warm tears spilled over her lower eyelid and fell down her cheeks, leaving a trail of moisture.

Perhaps I can warn them of this impending attack, she thought, although she assumed it futile. Even so, she tried to send a message to Finn first.

Finn, this is Chiara, if you can hear me, I wish to warn you of the First Order's plan to destroy the Illenium System as they did with the Hosnian System. I'm attempting to warn you so that you can help the Resistance evacuate. Please hear me, Finn.

When there came no reply, Chiara knew that she had failed. Even with this failure, she tried again with Han. She waited a few more minutes after having transmitted a similar message before turning to Rey. At this point she was praying that somehow Rey would be able to receive her thoughts by some miracle.

Rey, please hear me. This is Chiara. I need to warn you that the First Order is on their way to blow up the Illenium system. If you still happen to be there, you need to evacuate and bring as many people with you as possible. Please, Rey, you are my only hope.

Chiara fell back on the bed in frustration when there came no reply. She had failed them, they were to die and there was nothing she could do to help them. Although she knew it was not directly her fault, she blamed herself for this catastrophe. If only she had managed to turn Ben back to light side and had had his help to save the Resistance.

Then, causing her to jump up in shock, Chiara heard Rey's voice in her head, Chiara? How is this possible? I thought Kylo Ren would have killed you by now! Are you alright?

I am fine, Rey. It's you who are in danger! Please, help the Resistance get to safety or all they have fought for will be lost, Chiara replied, her eyes filling with tears of relief now that she had managed to contact someone in the Resistance.

We know of the First Order's plan, we are formulating an offensive attack. We will be ready by tomorrow morning, we can only pray that we will be quick enough to get the job done before Starkiller's weapon is ready to fire. Are you still in with the First Order?

Yes, but I will be ok. I can try to get on a flight off of the base before you all do whatever it is you are planning. Don't tell me any details just incase Be- Kylo Ren somehow manages to access these thoughts. Stay safe, Rey, and send Finn, Han, and Chewie my love. May the force be with you, Chiara quickly sent back as a reply, not wanting to be caught communicating with the enemy.

May the force be with you, Chiara, Rey responded before the connection was cut and Chiara was alone with Ben's books once again. Knowing that the Resistance was at least aware of the looming attack calmed some of her nerves, but she was still uneasy about the whole thing. If their plan failed, they would be as dead as they would be were they ignorant of the attack.

Chiara was brought out of her thoughts by the door to the room opening, revealing Ben. Almost in a frustrated manner, he removed his mask and slammed it down on a nearby table.

"Are you alright, Ben?" Chiara asked, sliding off of his bed and walking to his side.

"Chiara, what are you doing in here?" He asked, finally noticing her presence.

"I figured it would be easier to read in here rather than having to lug stacks of books back into my room, I do hope you don't mind," Chiara spoke a little tentatively, biting her lip.

A warm smile broke out across Ben's exhausted face as he pulled close to him, "You may come in here whenever you wish to. Your gentle presence is most comforting to me after the stressful day that I have had."

"Gentle presence? Ben, you do know that I could kill you right here then go wipe out half of your army before anyone would realize what was happening?"

"Then I must keep you here, so I can keep a careful eye on you," Ben retaliated, bending down to reach her lips. She met them eagerly, passion coursing through her veins.

As the kiss deepened, Chiara felt an urge that she had not felt before falling completely in love with him. She wanted him more than anything in the world, her thoughts becoming clouded by the love she felt towards him.

Ben felt that passion as well, had pressed her against the wall, kissing her furiously. His lips left hers and traveled down to her neck where he continued kissing and sucking. Chiara involuntarily let out a moan of delight, encouraging Ben to keep going.

Chiara used her shaking hands to began undressing the man before her. In response, he did the same to her, pushing her down onto the bed in the process. The stack of books that had been neatly placed there tumbled over, receiving a glance from neither Ben nor Chiara, who were far too caught up in each other to notice.

Ben was fierce but passionate, his love a fire burning inside of him. Their passion lasted into the night until they were both too exhausted to go on. Chiara curled up in Ben's arms, resting her head on his sweaty bare chest. Lulled to sleep by the sound of his heavy breathing and the feel of his chest rising and falling, she soon found herself peacefully drifting away.

...

Some smut for you all! I wasn't sure how much you guys wanted so I tried to keep it brief (of course I'm not the best at writing such heated scenes anyway)! But now I have a story to tell you all! So I was in history class the other day and my mom texted me and because I was watching a video from one of the Dorkside articles, my sound was on. So my mom's text tone is Han saying "I've got a really bad feeling about this." So that played during the class and my teacher just kind of looked around and asked if there was a ventriloquist in the room. I was torn between laughing, remaining silent, and scolding him for not recognizing the quote.

And also thank you guys for 200 reads! I know that that's not much, especially considering that this is my 24th chapter but I still feel the urge to let you all know that even if you don't favorite or commend you are still very much appreciated! And special thanks to ilurvbooks_97 for being one of the few who actually favorites my chapters!