Bound by Deception

13.2 How to Seduce a Lord

"You do, you must, or else you would never have mentioned her name," Nela said. "I didn't tell you who the girl was. You replied on your own."

"I...well..." Sterling was at a loss for words. He had underestimated Nela's knowledge of him. Sure, she had raised him more than his own mother had, but he never thought she paid attention as closely to him as he thought. She was but a nursemaid, an employee of his parents. She had no reason to be emotionally attached to him. However, Sterling also knew that he looked up to Nela like a mother - better than his biological one. He figured lying to her would get him nowhere, and there was no way he could do so with how deeply she was staring at him.

"It's hard," he admitted with a defeated sigh. "I never expected to have such feelings. Aria is out of my league, and we have no relationship apart from a contractual one. Should I somehow betray the organization, I have no doubt she will be sent to kill me, and she most definitely will. Aria is not one to concede defeat."

"But you love her. That is what I want to hear."

"I...I guess I do." Sterling avoided Nela's prodding stare. "I can't admit it, Nela, because it's simply not possible. Aria and I will always be just colleagues. However, in admitting these feelings, I suppose I can begin the process of releasing them and moving on."

"Nonsense! Aria always contacts you for all her issues, and you do the same. I have no doubt that she has feelings for you."

"Whatever she may feel for me, it is certainly not love." The doorbell rang, and idle conversation alerted Sterling to the aforementioned girl's arrival. He stood and fixed Nela with as stern of a look as he could muster. "Please, say nothing of this conversation to Aria. I don't want this to come to light."

"Of course." Nela didn't look at Sterling when she spoke, and as Aria entered the room she left, murmuring under her breath about tea as she did so.

Sterling was struck silent when Aria strode before him. She was always lovely to look at, but today she seemed to have an air of elegance that was stronger than before. She wore a simple, peach robe that was tied in a thin bow right below her breasts and a smile that lightened his dim living space. Sterling collected his wits, greeting her with a playful bow and wink.

"A lovely day today, isn't it, my dear lady?"

"I didn't know you were starting formalities with me," Aria smirked. "Has Nela finally knocked some sense into you? Have you finally converted to becoming a proper gentleman?"

"A proper gentleman kisses his guest's hands." Sterling boldly stepped forward. "Would you like a kiss, my lady?"

Aria's cheeks turned the same color as her dress. "How are you so good at this?" She whispered, more to herself than to anyone.

Sterling was shocked. He expected a snarky response. "Good at what?"

"Flirting." Aria waved her hands around her face. "Making women all flushed and stammering. How do you do this? How can I do this?"

"You'd like to flirt with women?" Sterling blinked rapidly. "Well, I didn't know you took a fancy to them, but nevertheless..."

"No!" Aria shouted. "No, Sterling!" She slapped him on the back of his head. "I'm talking about our mission!"

"With Lord James?" Sterling frowned. "Well, what about him?"

"How do I...flirt with him?" Aria shriveled at the word. "He came to my house today and asked again if he could court me. I said yes - for the mission - but I have no idea how to...seduce him, I guess, when we go out together."

"Ah." Sterling nodded. "I guess that's a fair concern. What did you come to me for though?"

"I mean, we are doing this assignment together," Aria muttered. "So I figured I'd give you a heads up and send you the details later. But...you know...you flirt on a daily basis, and we wouldn't have completed even half of our missions without you. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is...can you show me how?"