CHAPTER THREE

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Ben was over an hour late to the monthly Mid Rim Trade Coalition meeting. Naboo's most valuable commodity was its beauty, and his homeworld made far more money drawing in tourists than by selling its native resources, so he didn't have much to add to a meeting about the exportation of fuels and metals. He still got sharp, side-eyed looks from several of his fellow senators, especially the Populists.

He drank a cup of caf as he listened to the representatives from Shu-Torun and Takodana cutting through each other's arguments with little finesse and no respect, interrupting and raising their voices. The committee chair, Nala Palee of Malastare, told them to sit down and shut up, if in much more senatorial terms.

This was a waste of time. He had to outline his next speech, edit the latest draft of the standardized education bill, and prep for tomorrow's dinner with his mother. Well, it was the "Biannual Bipartisan Soirée," meant to foster good will between the Centrists and Populists. A bacta patch on an amputation, far too little too late when their parties had grown so hostile toward each other. But the most prominent senators both conservative and liberal would be there, and this year his mother was hosting it.

Ben's attention drifted around the third hour of the committee meeting. He thought of Rey, of the night they'd shared, strange and reckless and intoxicating. It was foolish, what he'd done, what he was still doing. Keeping a courtesan stowed away in a cheap motel, waiting on his return like a paid housewife. Ridiculous.

He wondered what Rey was doing this morning. Had she gone back to sleep, still worn out from the thorough fucking he'd given her? Or perhaps she'd decided to take advantage of her sudden windfall. Ben imagined her buying a fancy breakfast, gobbling her expensive food without any grace, and had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.

Ben's personal assistant, Aila, took notes on the meeting, and as soon as it was over, she said, "That was informative."

"If by informative you mean completely unnecessary," Ben said. "No one would compromise and nothing was accomplished. As per usual."

Aila smiled but didn't say anything. She was a no-nonsense woman, which he liked, and willing to do everything he tasked her with competently and quickly, which he liked even better.

She'd organized his files on the education bill this morning (while he was busy sleeping with Rey), so Ben had everything he needed to begin his edits. It was early evening already, and he would be here late, but that was what he got for playing hooky last night.

This draft was a mess. Half the Centrists in the subcommittee wanted to play it safe, appeal to the Populists closer to the middle of the aisle by compromising on mandated secondary education. The other half wanted to shove the most radical plan possible in their rivals' faces, standardizing everything right down to quarterly tests. And leave this bill in a year of rejection and revision hell, he supposed.

After three hours of cleaning up his far-left colleagues' work, Ben was exhausted, starving, and distracted. He set aside his datapad, put his head in his hands, and groaned. He was useless today, and it was obvious why.

Rey was waiting on him, but he couldn't see her until tomorrow night. It had been a long while since he'd had a lover; the Senate simply kept him too busy, and because he wasn't interested in anything long-term, his flings were never sustainable. But this could be different. Rey would meet him with open arms—and legs—as long as he paid her well, which he could do indefinitely.

He drank another cup of caf, his fourth of the day, and settled down, determined to get through at least half of this goddamn bill before he went home.

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Rey lay in bed for about half an hour after Ben left, then got up and took a bath. It wasn't as if this motel boasted an indulgent tub, but any time she had the chance to fill a basin with hot water and sink into it, Rey considered it the highest luxury. She scrubbed and shaved and soaked, draining and refreshing the water twice before getting out.

Then she ate a pre-dawn breakfast. The credits Ben had left behind for food would have paid for a junkyard speeder, or an elegant five course meal, but she only spent a tiny fraction of it on a greasy, starchy breakfast of fried red-yolked eggs over a spicy hash with three types of meat, none of which Rey recognized. She ate the large bowl of food in its entirety, sitting on the curb next to the restaurant stall and enjoying the strange bustle of the almost-morning underground.

Then she went back to the motel, took off all her clothes, and climbed naked into the bed. She didn't wake until noon.

Rey ordered in lunch, then spent her afternoon watching holodramas. She made it halfway through her second one before she got bored. She wasn't used to her nights being so empty.

It wasn't as if bedsport was her favorite thing, but it wasn't her least favorite either. It couldn't be, given her profession. While she'd of course rather do something else with her life than sleep with strangers for what few credits they'd give her, it was at least something to do.

Rey got up, feeling like Ben as she fiddled with the door to the closet. She could go out, but what if Ben came back early? Not that he had reason to, and he'd only asked her to be here when he got back tomorrow night. It wasn't as if she had to stay put.

Leaving the room he'd bought for her felt dishonest, however, and Rey flopped onto the bed in a huff. She should have demanded something to occupy her time, but it was a little late now.

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Ben wore a black suit to the soirée, high necked and plain. He didn't have his mother's flair for fashion; maybe if she'd kept him around as a child instead of shipping him off to Uncle Luke he'd have better taste in clothes.

He drank Cheedoan whiskey with Count Jogurner, a taciturn Populist who was about as interested in this event as he was.

"Enjoying the festivities?"

Ben looked up to see Lady Carise, dressed in striking emerald robes. It took all of his political training to smile. She was pretty, a member of the Elder Houses, and a staunch Centrist. Sometime in the last year Carise had determined that their shared nobility and political beliefs made them something like friends, and Ben wasn't in the mood for dealing with her tonight.

"Not my favorite venue," he said.

Carise looked around his mother's apartment—spacious and well-appointed, but not frivolous—and shook her head. "I have to agree."

"Still, I should at least say hello." Ben nodded toward his mother. "Excuse me."

Leia Organa was every bit as beautiful now as she'd been in her youth. Softer, greyer, but no less regal, no less lovely. And she still knew how to command a crowd, if the Senators gathered around her were anything to go by.

His father was an idiot for spending half his time off-world.

She smiled brightly when he approached. "Ben. I'm so glad you came."

As if he had much choice. "Of course."

He smiled back, the warmest greeting he allowed these days. The last time they'd hugged he was a boy of nine, clinging to her like seaweed. He'd sworn to do better, be better, if she'd only keep him. But no, it was the Jedi path for him—until it wasn't.

Ben slipped back among the people grouped around Leia, carefully drawing away. He wondered if he could get away with a third whiskey without instigating rumors.

It was going to be a long night.

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Rey was catapulting a wad of paper against the room door when it opened. She'd found an old wire hanger in the closet she and Ben both seemed to be drawn to and had constructed a rudimentary trebuchet. It had kept her busy for an hour and a half.

"Finally!" Rey said as Ben stepped through the door. "I was ready to go stand on the street corner just to have someone to talk to."

"Not like that, I hope."

Rey was as naked as the day she was born, shamelessly proud of the pretty picture she made.

Ben started stripping out of his suit, already hard. He unbuckled his belt, nodded toward the bed, and said, "On your back. Now."

Rey skittered to the bed, a giddy smile stealing over her face. "It's good to see you again, too, Senator."

She made a show of arching her back, posing herself on the neat coverlet with her ankles primly crossed.

Ben uncrossed her legs and trailed kisses from her ankle to her knee. "Getting bored without me?"

Rey shifted, her breath catching sharp in her chest. "Very."

Ben mouthed his way to her belly, wet and messy, perfect. He nipped her hip bone, sucked on it, then smiled against her skin. "I'll do my best to keep you entertained."

The last thing she expected Senator Solo to do after two days away was to go down on her, much less with the intent to get her off. But here he was, kneeling on the duvet, giving her excellent head and showing no signs of stopping until he made her come.

Rey threaded her fingers through his long, heavy hair, gripping and releasing the higher he took her. His mouth was hot and insistent on her, focusing his attention exactly where she needed it.

Giving it to her. Just, giving it to her.

Rey told herself that she was going to be quiet again this time, but when Ben hooked a single finger inside her there at the very end, she didn't have much choice but to cry out. He coaxed a release from her in no time at all, and she'd never been a particularly quick study. Perhaps it was his eagerness, near stubbornness, that bewitched her body.

Whatever it was, she liked it, and she came very happily, and very loudly.

Ben was grinning, smug and self-satisfied, when he crawled on top of her.

"Are you always that easy?" he asked.

Rey shook her head. "Just for you."

"Is that so?"

Before Rey could answer, he brought their bodies together, pushing all the way into her with one thrust.

"Yes!" she gasped, though she wasn't sure if it was in answer to his snotty question or at the sensation of being so thoroughly filled. She was still tender and sensitive from her climax, and his harsh slide into her body threatened to send her off again.

Rey dug her short nails into his back, biting down on his shoulder for good measure. Stars, but he felt good inside of her. She wasn't so fanciful to think things like a perfect fit or made for her, but Ben Solo was exactly her brand of liquor when he got her on her back.

She clawed at him, trying to hold herself together when she was already close to falling apart. If she'd ever had it so good she couldn't remember. Rey really was easy just for him, a truth she'd only told because Ben would think it was a lie. She was getting close again, not two minutes into this, unable to do anything but quiver and whine every time he rocked into her.

"Nearly there." He took her harder, giving her the roughness she needed to reach the edge. "Just let it happen, sweetheart."

It was sweetheart that did it, which pissed Rey off. The harsh strokes, the deep stretch all brought her close, but one honeyed word and she was squealing through another damned orgasm.

He was kissing her again, tender touches at her temple and over her eyelid. Sweet, so achingly sweet. Rey tried to turn her face away, but that had him brushing his lips over her ear, her neck, his hips jerking clumsily until he came three breaths behind her.

Ben was too heavy to give his full weight to her, but he made her take it for a moment anyway. His body covered every inch of hers, guarding, possessive.

Rey squirmed under him and beat at his shoulder. "Get off."

Ben didn't go anywhere, but he propped himself up, arms braced on either side of her so that he wasn't squashing her anymore. His idea of a compromise, she supposed.

Rey glared up at him, somehow more annoyed now that he'd given her pleasure than she'd been when he'd withheld it.

"You're even prettier when you're angry," Ben said. "Maybe I should irritate you on purpose, just so I can see that lovely frown."

Rey bared her teeth at him in a snarl she hoped was less attractive to him. "Wouldn't take much practice on your part, Senator. You have a natural talent."

Ben grabbed her hair and yanked her head back, baring her throat to him. He sucked at her pulse point, marking her with an anger that made her weak-limbed and needy again.

"I have a name," he said. "Use it or I'll make you scream it."

Rey felt her cheeks heat, but she didn't give her useless flush any more credit than it was due. "Such a feeble threat, Ben," she said. "Treating a pleasure like it's a punishment."

She bit her lip and looked away from him. The comment had been more biting in her head, less mooning and lovesick.

It didn't matter whether fucking around with Ben Solo was a pleasure or not. This was almost finished. He'd hand over the remaining thousand he owed her and they'd part ways. If she was lucky, she could get one more meal out of him, maybe another kiss on the mouth. But there wasn't much else for her.

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Author's Notes: If you have a moment to review, please let me know what you thought! And happy holidays to those who are celebrating this season. Personally, I'm just thrilled that 2020 is almost over. Bye, bitch!