Bound by Deception

23.2 Edward James Takes a Bow

Oh trust me, I won't, Aria thought with a scowl. She took a large breath, steadying her jittery nerves, and put her hands on the lapels of Edward's coat. To her surprise, they were much smoother than Sterling's clothes, but it was no doubt because of Edward's exotic taste in fashion and Sterling's carelessness when it came to dressing himself.

Edward immediately caught onto what she was doing. He grabbed her cheeks and slammed his mouth onto hers. She felt their teeth clash, and the slight whimper that she released was one of pain, not pleasure, though Edward definitely took it the wrong way. He continued to kiss her and move their bodies toward the bed. Crashing onto the soft mattress, Aria sank into the sheets as Edward began roaming her still bruised body. He didn't seem to notice the hickeys, though, caught up in his own fantasy of what was happening.

Aria, on the other hand, struggled to be interested in their lovemaking. She could think of nothing but how Sterling's smooth, deft fingers stroking her skin was like silk as compared to the rough, callousness of Edward's greedy hands. He bunched and squeezed her flesh like she was a ball, often asking if he was doing well. She wouldn't answer and respond to him with a forced smile and a nod.

His kisses were even worse. She had hoped that he would eat something sweet before their planned encounter, but it seemed that Edward retained his passion for salty foods. Aria wanted to vomit every time he planted a kiss on her lips or skin, and she had to force herself to roll her body with his touch.

Every now and then, she would hear a grunt from the closet, one more masculine-sounding than Edward's piggish squeals. She wasn't sure if Sterling was fantasizing about his own pleasure or just being annoyed at having to wait so long for her mission to finish, but either way, she knew that she'd be rushing to him the moment she was out of the mansion.

"Will we even have time to do this in Grandville?" She asked between kisses and fake gasps. "What with you in the army and all...?"

"Oh, we will, trust me," Edward assured her. He removed his shirt and loosened the buckle of his pants. In the damp sunlight and brightening moon, his hair glistened in an orangish color and highlighted the sweat that covered his toned body. "I'm not going to let my job keep me from my wife. We will have plenty of time together. Besides, Grandville isn't working on anything big at the moment."

"But...you said that they were planning to attack Rouver?"

"Yes, but not for a while. It's not a big project, my dear. This is something that will destroy Rouver in less than a day."

Less than a day? Is this a secret weapon? "How do you know that it will? Do you know their plan? How many people will it kill?"

"Darling." Edward nipped her neck and kissed her temple. "You're the assassin in this relationship. You tell me."

"Well, I - what?" Aria's blood ran cold and her mouth snapped shut. Edward loomed over her, pinning her wrists to the bedpost. When he looked at her, Aria could see the pure cruelty that shone in his baby blues. He kissed her and bit roughly on her lip, drawing some blood into her mouth.

"Oh sweet, naive Aria," he crooned, pinning her writhing hips with his own. "Did you really think that I was that stupid? I've known you since we were children!" He reached for his nightstand and pulled out a small recorder and multiple photographs. They showed Aria with Sterling and Margot, discussing the murder in Hades. The recording was from Aria's multiple conversations with Sterling, and a few of the photos even showed her speaking to Nela.

"I know all about your little plot," he sneered, his grip periodically tightening on her wrists. "I'm not dumb. I saw your earrings and knew immediately who you were working for."

"You bastard," Aria growled. "So, you knew this whole time? You were just playing with me?"

"Like you weren't doing the same," Edward scoffed, and Aria hated to admit it, but he was right. She had gotten caught up in her personal affairs that she had allowed herself to relax too much. "So, if you want to live, you're going to do exactly what I say. You're going to let me fuck you to my heart's content, then if you be a good girl and tell me everything about Hades, I'll consider letting you live."

"Yeah? You think so, huh?" Aria scoffed. Edward was only pretending to be a big shot since he thought she would only be able to use her arms to defend herself. It took effort, but Aria ignored the pain that shot through her leg when she bent her knee and jammed it into Edward's crotch. The boy howled and leaped off her.

"You bitch!" He screamed, grabbing her shirt and ripping it with his fall. He dug his nails into her skin and wrestled to grab her wrists again. "You fucking bitch! Now, I'm going to show you, you crippled bitch! I was going to give you the honor of sleeping with me, but you wanna be a whore and sleep with your partner first, huh? The infamous Drazek boy who killed his parents? Those are the new friends that you've made, huh? I hope you get pregnant with his bastard child and die!"

"Shut your damn mouth!" Fury surged in Aria's chest and she ripped herself free of Edward's grasp. Red dots danced in her vision and she could see nothing but a big red target on Edward's face. Without thinking, she grabbed the nearest pillow and slammed it onto his face, smothering his voice and pumping the pillow up and down on him.

"I never should have been your friend!" Despite herself, she felt her eyes prickle and dampen. "How could I have trusted you back then? I was such a foolish child! And for you to call me a whore? To curse my future children and slander my partner's name? Go to hell, Edward!" She continued to smother his face in the pillow, ignoring his hacking and pushing past the pain of his nails clawing at her skin.

"Aria!" Sterling burst from the closet, sweaty and evidently having just woken up from some type of spell. He rushed to the bed and grabbed her elbows. "Aria, stop! Enough!"

"Enough?!" Aria screeched, vaguely sounding like her aunt. "Enough?! No, Sterling! This isn't enough! I'm gonna kill him and everyone he knows!"

"Madame told us not to!" Sterling fought with her, trying to grab hold of her wrists. "Aria, please!"

"Stop begging me!" She snapped. "Stop it! Stop it! I let this happen; I let myself be fooled! What kind of assassin am I? Has all my hard work gone for nothing?"

"Aria-!"

"No, I'm talking. I am a killer! I'm not a seductress! I kill to protect my family! To protect my country so that they don't end up like my parents!" Tears that had been held back for a decade spilled in rushed cascades from her eyes. "I don't want to be alone again! I need this power...this control..."

"Aria, stop!" Sterling pleaded again. "Please, stop, you've-!"

"I've what?" She whirled around, the pillow sliding onto her knees. "What, Sterling? I've failed? I've lost my edge because of this stupid task?"

"No..." his voice dropped to a horrified whisper. "No, Aria...you killed him."

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Oh no...what has Aria done? How will Madame react to her defying an order? Was Aria right in what she did? Why do you think she did that? 

VOTE/COMMENT/ENJOY :D