Bound by Deception

17.3 Kissing Takes Practice

Aria grabbed a pillow from his bed and smacked him over the head. "Don't get too cocky. I'm not making out with you. It's just a kiss. I need practice so that I don't fuck up the date."

Sterling cleared his throat. "Right, right." He pressed his lips together to try and hide the disappointment that dragged his heart down. Of course, it's all just for the mission. "Okay, that's fair to me."

"Good." Aria smiled. "So, how should we do this?"

"Er..." Sterling glanced at his bed, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. He erased all conflicting thoughts from his mind and flicked a switch in his head, transferring from regular, playful Sterling to work Sterling - the Sterling that he would put himself in whenever he had to fuck a woman and kill her after.

"Sit down." He took her hands and pulled her into a sitting position on the bed. Aria watched him with a curious stare as he cupped her cheek. His soft thumb smoothed the tired creases on her cheeks and he brought his face toward her. Gently, like a butterfly fluttering against her skin, he kissed her on the cheek, and her heart exploded into a fissure of firecrackers. She felt herself closing her eyes, darkness overtaking her as his lips moved along her jaw and touched the corner of her mouth. Her breath hitched; her heart started to run; her legs, even though she was sitting, shook.

Sterling could feel her anticipation radiate onto him in pounding waves. He'd never felt this comfortable before, nor did he remember the pleasurable feeling of arousal. He took her face in both of his hands, cracking an eye open once to study her face. She looked like a cute fish, her eyes closed and her lips moving in and out from between her teeth. She was anxious, and he sought to touch her more to calm her down, but then he had to remind himself that this was not real. This was just practice.

The idea calmed his burning libido and he kissed her on the cheek one last time before he connected his lips with hers. The smooth, fresh skin of his mouth captured her small, soft lips and he almost groaned. Aria smelled like a hot summer day when the air passed just through one's freshly washed hair, dragging the blueberry smell across the room. He deepened their kiss, tilting her head so he could have better access to her mouth.

Aria was stunned, whether she wanted to accept it or not. Sterling was an amazing kisser, though she would never tell him because it would only serve to increase his ego. The way that his mouth caressed hers brought a flurry of tingles cascading down her spine and gave her the feeling that she was floating. She doubted that Edward could compare to her Casanova partner, but for some reason, she had no desire for their kiss to end. His legs were locked around hers, and they probably would have continued to kiss until Aria realized that she wasn't breathing.

They broke apart with a simultaneous gasp, their cheeks flushed (although it was easier to see on Sterling's pale skin than Aria's darker skin). Aria's tongue gently touched her lips; they were unusually moist.

"Damn, no wonder you do all the seducing," she muttered, seemingly unfazed. Sterling, on the other hand, struggled to speak and only managed to nod. When was the last time he had been so affected by a kiss? He couldn't remember. Perhaps it was when he had his first one.

"I think it was too fierce though," Aria continued, still touching her lips. "And my teeth may have clashed with yours."

"Did they?" Sterling blinked a few times. "I didn't notice."

"I did." She leaned again and pecked his mouth. "Maybe Edward will do something like that?"

"Maybe. Or he could do this." He kissed her without hesitation but left their lips locked for at most five seconds before retracting. "It's your guys' first kiss, after all."

"That's true. Or he could make it longer. Like this." Aria took him by the lapels of his shirt and brought him down to her. She first brushed her nose against his in the process of tilting her head, but without apologizing, she met his mouth with an open kiss, trying to hug his lips the same way he had done with hers. She couldn't do it, though, because she was much smaller than Sterling in all aspects. He was able to understand what she was attempting and grabbed her hips, completing the kiss.

"That covers most of the basics of kissing," he said breathlessly. "Do you think you're ready for tomorrow? For Edward's kiss?"

"I don't think it can compare to yours," Aria said with a light smirk. "But there's bound to be someone better than you, Sterling."

"Perhaps you should try kissing all of the men in Bishops? There could be someone then." The joke was lighthearted, but Sterling found his conscious disapproving of the statement. No, don't kiss anyone else! Kiss Edward then come back to me!

"I'm not looking to be labeled as the town whore, no matter how degrading the term is." Aria scoffed. "Honestly, a man kisses so many women yet he's not promiscuous, but a woman kissing multiple men is considered a whore? Society is beyond my sphere of comprehension."

Sterling smiled. "It's a nasty truth." He took a risk and kissed her again; a quick peck even though he longed for more. This is dangerous. My heart is beating a mile a minute. I can't concentrate on anyone but her. "Do you need more practice, my lady?"

"No." Aria kissed him back, her eyes closed like she was enjoying a particularly sweet piece of chocolate. "We're good."

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GUYS THEY KISSED!!! What do you think will happen next? Is anyone catching feelings? How will this affect their mission? 

VOTE/COMMENT/ENJOY :D