Bound by Deception

20.3 The Coitus Compromise

"Did he?" Nela inspected the wrinkly green fruit with a skeptical look. "Good for him. I've been wondering when he'd do that. Where is he?"

"Asleep in his room. The curtains are closed."

"He must've done it early in the morning, then." Nela put the fruit in her pocket. "You kids have fun. Please be careful, Sterling, and don't break the bed. I'm sure Hudson will appreciate it. When you're done I'll have snacks ready." She strode away, humming innocently while Aria giggled and Sterling stared after her with the look of a boy who'd been caught taking sweets from the counter.

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing much." Aria glanced at the bag. "What's in there?"

"Condoms." Sterling held the cloth sack up with a deadpan expression. "I figured we should be safe, and I know you aren't on birth control, so..."

"Great." Aria rolled on her heels. "Good for thinking ahead." She felt her neck grow hot and studied the ground to control the tingling sensation. "So...now what?"

"Now..." Sterling took three large strides and he was in front of her. He swept her off her feet and into his arms, eliciting a surprised laugh from her light red lips. "Let the real fun begin."

~***~

They started to kiss once they reached the second floor, which was luckily where Sterling's room was situated. With Aria in his arms, Sterling almost forgot that he was carrying a bag until it dropped at his feet right when he set Aria on his bed. Kicking it to the side, he continued to kiss her, attacking her plump lips with his harried mouth and starved tongue. She tasted like ginger and milk powder, which deeply aroused Sterling. He climbed above her small frame, trailing his lips down her neck, biting right by her collarbone.

Aria yelped. "Gentle, gentle!" She hissed, tangling her fingers through his fluffy white hair.

"Sorry." He kissed the bruise he left on her skin. "Am I going too fast? Too rough?"

"A little bit. Can you slow down?" Aria brought his face to meet hers, trailing her fingers over the rough stubble that covered his jaw. "Also...can I...be on top?"

Sterling's lip kicked up. Challenge accepted, Miss. He wordlessly rolled onto his back, setting her above him and right on top of his painfully growing erection.

Feeling the bulge dig into her sensitive area made Aria involuntarily gasp. With a heart that was combusting like an empowered phoenix, Aria realized that she had somehow knocked the switch up on all of her senses, making every little touch feel like an overwhelming tidal wave. Surprisingly, she didn't mind it, and the excitement that danced in her belly was a welcome emotion. The smug challenge in Sterling's hooded eyes brought the competitiveness out of her and she bent to kiss his neck, trailing down to his collarbone like he did to her.

I guess we'll play this game, then, she thought, completely forgetting about her previous trepidation. Sterling's grunts of encouragement helped move her mouth back to his as she unbuttoned his shirt. The garment found its way onto the ground, and with it, Aria's blouse and petticoat.

"Silk, huh?" Sterling ran his fingers along the edge of the white undershirt that kept Aria's naked chest from his view. "I didn't know you were such a tease, my lady."

"Oh shut up. It wasn't for you." Aria kissed him and bit his bottom lip gently. "I just threw on the first thing I could find."

"And you found silk?"

"It came right from the wash," she muttered, and resumed her volley of kisses, pampering his muscled chest with her lips until her knees and hamstrings began to ache. Damn that accident!

"Here. Let me do some work now." Sterling, noticing the discomfort that had begun to etch on her face, flipped them so that she was underneath him. One hand crawled to her back and slowly started to lift up her undershirt while he kissed her jaw. To tease her, he ground the desire between both of their hips at a rhythmic pace, enjoying the glee that burst in his stomach when she let out a gasp and moan.

"I heard that," he said, grinning. He slipped the silk garment from her top when she arched upward. "What alter ego are you hiding, my lady?"

"One that can beat your ass," Aria breathlessly responded, patting up his chest. "Now, stop playing with me and keep going! We don't have all day!"

"No...I think we do." Sterling responded smugly but acquiesced and made quick work of their pants and underwear. With the barrier of clothes gone, and their bodies wet and occasionally making fart sounds that would send Aria into a fit of giggles, the years of pining and dreaming (mostly on Sterling's side) were finally fitting together.

"It's not funny," he petulantly muttered, glaring at her from above her belly as she snorted and laughed.

"How can it not be funny?!" She chortled. "Y-You're supposed to be going down on me and...and it..." she couldn't finish, dissolving into a fit of laughter.

"Hilarious." Sterling rolled his eyes and rose to tower over her. Having discovered all of her sensitive areas, sweet spots, and more, he knew that she was ready. "Aria..."

"Hm?" She stopped laughing, big brown eyes staring up into his frosty blues like a deer gazing into the sky. Sterling's heart nearly stopped beating. Damn, I'm done for now.

"I'm going to do it now...are you ready?"

"I..." Aria, enamored by the icy chains that held her, hesitated in responding. Every particle of her body was begging her to say yes, but something held her back. Call it an assassin's instinct, but as she gazed at Sterling - the sweaty, intense man that she had called her partner and best friend for so many years - Aria realized that this could be something that she could never go back on. Once he entered her and claimed her body with his touch, she was gone. And not gone as in, she was going to be rendered paralyzed, but gone as in...as in...

I would be unequivocally besotted with him, she finished. His chains will hold me forever. Poetic, it sounded, but she decided that being reminded of her partner every time she had sex with another man would be something she could handle. Labored breaths mingled with her thoughts, creating a sluggish train in her mind, but Aria knew that whatever she said would determine the rest of their relationship. She had no time to dwell on the 'what ifs'. She should have done that yesterday or the day before. No, it was too late now. She had to answer. She had to say something. But was it worth ruining a friendship with romantic feelings that would never go anywhere but to hell?

I'm not falling in love with him. Aria scolded herself abruptly. She pinched her eyes shut and ground her teeth together. No, this is all for the mission. Just for the mission. Nothing else...

"Aria?" Concern gripped Sterling's voice, and he began to push himself away from her when Aria's eyes snapped open; she grabbed his shoulders and thrust her body upward, clashing her teeth with his as she kissed him.

"Do it, Sterling," he heard her beg - in a tone that implied she was trying to be tough and failing miserably. "Do it now!"

He chuckled, regaining his wits. Holding her body, he settled her back on the damp bed sheets and kissed her gently, tasting himself and her sweet taste in her mouth.

"As you wish, my lady."

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So...not as spicy as you may have been expecting, but I'm working on writing sex-scenes haha. What did you think of this chapter? 

VOTE/COMMENT/ENJOY :D