Chapter 291: Aria’s wickedness

’Damm,’ Eren thought, shaking his head with an internal, unhinged chuckle. ’The strongest swordsmaster and the future matriarch of the Reedings dukedom, reduced to feral street gamblers over who gets to enact their degenerate kinks on me first. Women are terrifying.’

The die rattled across the floor, bounced off a mahogany chair leg, and spun to a halt.

The Tide Crest.

"YES!"

Aria jumped to her feet on the white rug, tossing her hands into the air in triumph. "Water swallows the gale! The court recognizes the victor!"

Emma dropped her face straight into both hands, letting out a loud, miserable groan of defeat. "Damn it all! Why does the entire universe hate me tonight?!"

Norelia patted Emma’s broad shoulder, offering deadpan, drunken consolation. "There, there, Captain. Statistically speaking, you would be the sole winner next. Your turn will inevitably come before morning."

"Do not weep for lost glory, my sweet Captain," Aria purred with aristocratic arrogance.

The villainess turned on her heel, stepping gracefully across the white fur until she stood directly in front of Eren’s kneeling form, looking down at him like a conqueror claiming a fallen kingdom. The warm amber firelight traced every exquisite, dangerous curve of her body, casting long, tempting shadows down the silk of her shorts.

Eren leaned back on his heels, crossing his arms over his bare chest with a smile.

"Well, my victorious lady?" Eren said smoothly. "What imperial decree does my gorgeous fiancée wish to inflict upon her humble servant? A foot rub? Or do I have to eat you just like Norelia?"

Aria’s lips curled into a breathtaking smile.

"I have a far superior decree in mind, darling," Aria whispered.

She tightened her grip in his dark hair, tilting his head back until his blue eyes locked on her exclusively. Her golden eyes glittered, drinking in every inch of his sharp jawline and the spark in his sapphire gaze.

"Look at you," Aria whispered, her thumb lightly grazing his temple with mock tenderness. "Looking so adorably innocent, like a lamb led to slaughter. Now strip off those trousers, darling. I run out of patience."

Eren smiled. He pushed himself smoothly off his knees, standing tall in the center of the fur rug. "Skipping the appetizers and ordering the full course, are we?"

He unfastened his belt, sliding the heavy trousers down his corded, athletic legs and kicking them aside. Just as his fingers hooked into the waistband of his underwear to finish the job, Aria held up a hand.

"Hold it," she commanded, her voice dropping into a firm, aristocratic snap. "Leave those on."

Eren paused, his eyebrows arching in genuine confusion. "Leaving the wrapping on the prize? That doesn’t sound like the greedy villainess I fell for."

"Down on the rug, Eren. Sit," Aria ordered, gesturing smoothly down to the white fur. "Facing Emma and Norelia."

"What kind of deranged theatrical production are you orchestrating now?" Eren muttered under his breath, but he obeyed without genuine resistance. He sank cross-legged onto the plush rug; his eyes met the two women sitting across from him.

Emma sat bolt upright, her eyes wide and guarded as she leaned forward on her palms, entirely bewildered by the shift. Beside her, Norelia clutched her oversized cashmere sweater close to her chin, her eyes flicking between Eren and the noblewoman.

Aria didn’t make them wait.

Moving with the grace of a panther, she sat on the rug directly behind Eren. Sliding forward until there was not an inch of air between them, she pressed the soft, burning curve of her chest flush against his bare back. Her pale legs curled tightly around his hips, anchoring his lower half to the floor, while her slender arms were beneath his armpits, her manicured fingers splaying flat across the sculpted ridges.

She leaned to his ear.

"The rules of your sentence are simple, my sweet darling," Aria whispered, her voice an intoxicating hum that sent a violent shiver racing straight down his spine. "From this very second, you will not open that silver tongue of yours. You will not utter a single word, groan, or complaint."

Her fingers tightened against his chest, digging into his skin as her thighs locked tighter around his waist.

"Second: your eyes will remain locked entirely on Emma and Norelia. You will not look away, you will not close your eyelids, and you will not look back at me. Third: whatever I do to you back here, you are forbidden from moving a muscle. Not even a finger."

Aria’s lips grazed the shell of his ear, her teeth gently nipping the edge.

"And most importantly, darling... no matter how agonizingly sweet it becomes, you are not permitted to spill a single drop until I permit you. Understood?"

Eren’s breath hitched.

"What kind of imperial dungeon torture is this—"

"Silence," Aria hissed into his ear, her hand sliding up his throat to lightly cup his jaw, forcing his face dead-center toward the blushing, breathless pair across the rug. "The trial has begun, darling. Break a single rule, and the punishment will be far worse."

Her arms reached his chest, her fingers tracing the sharp contours of his ribs and the rugged, raised lines of his scars. Her touch was maddeningly slow, alternating between feather-light caresses that raised goosebumps across his skin and sharp, possessive grips that threatened to leave bruises.

Behind him, her boobs pressed against his back, the silk of her camisole offering zero protection against the heat radiating between them. Every breath she took pushed the soft curves of her breasts into his spine.

"Remember the rules, darling," Aria whispered against the shell of his ear, her teeth grazing the lobe. "Not a sound. Not a twitch. Keep your eyes on our lovely spectators."

Then, Aria made her move.

Shifting her weight slightly behind him, she slid one long, porcelain leg forward. Her bare foot glided along the inside of his thigh, the smooth, cool arch of her sole contrasting sharply against his skin. With deliberate, wicked precision, the delicate curve of her toes brushed against the taut fabric of his linen briefs, right where his hardness strained against the restriction.

Eren’s jaw locked. A low, muffled hiss nearly escaped his teeth, but Aria’s fingers instantly snapped to his throat, lightly encircling the base of his neck in a silent threat.

Her foot pressed in.

Using the soft side of her foot and the agile grip of her toes, Aria began to knead him through the cloth. Her sole stroked upward, applying firm, calculated pressure before dragging slowly back down to the base. Her toes curled, gently teasing the sensitive underside, trapping him against his own abdomen.

___

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