Chapter 117: The Devil's Trade

Aria gulped another wine.

The dark red liquid burned its way down her throat, settling in her stomach like a pool of hot lead. She needed the burn. She needed the alcohol to numb the sharp, screaming voice in the back of her head that was telling her she was a monster. She set the crystal glass down on the bedside table with a shaky hand, the sound of glass against wood echoing in the silent, luxurious room.

“Emily, it's just a night of pleasure and submission. It's nothing more,” Aria whispered to the empty air.

She smiled saying that, but it was a broken, twisted smile. It was the smile of a woman who had been pushed too far and had finally decided to push back.

The moment Marcus told her about the change of plan, to focus on Norman, she went on an underground search. She was a spy, after all. She didn't just take orders blindly anymore. While Marcus thought she was breaking down in her apartment, Aria had hacked into the encrypted files Marcus kept on his private server. It was risky, it was dangerous, but she had to know why the sudden shift.

And she found it.

She found the logs. She found the messages.

Emily knew about the plan from the beginning.

Aria closed her eyes, the betrayal washing over her again fresh and hot. Emily, her best friend, her lover. Emily, the girl she had protected. Emily knew about seducing the father and the son. She knew that Marcus intended for Aria to be passed around like a bottle of wine at a cheap party. But she never told Aria of plan B.

Emily only wanted Aria to focus on revenge and not to lose focus. She had kept quiet, letting Aria walk blindly into a trap where she would have to sleep with Norman Malcovich. Emily had watched Aria fall in love with Ethan, knowing all along that the endgame was for Aria to betray him with his own father.

"You played me, Emily," Aria muttered, staring at the closed door. "You played the loyal friend, but you were just another handler."

So, Aria had flipped the script.

Aria made sure those bodyguards Ethan assigned to her had to do the job. They were loyal to Ethan, yes, but they were terrified of the woman Ethan loved. When Aria gave an order with that cold, Malcovich-like stare, they obeyed. They answer Ethan, they should answer to her as well. She had directed them to take the "gift" to Norman. She had directed them to take Emily.

“It's just for a night Emily. Have a taste of the Malcovich strength and feel what it means to serve as a pet to the lion itself,” Aria said, her voice trembling.

Aria's heart thudded. It beat heavily against her ribs, a drum of guilt and justification. She knows if Emily finds out that it would draw a line. It would destroy their friendship forever. There was no coming back from this. She had sent her friend into the lion's den to save herself. She had sacrificed Emily to keep her own body clean for Ethan.

But she is in to accept what it is. This was the world they lived in. A world of shadows and knives. If Emily was willing to let Aria be the sacrifice, then Emily should be willing to take the fall herself.

"I am doing this for the mission," Aria lied to herself. "I am doing this for us."

Before Marcus knows what really happened, she would definitely bring solid information to Marcus. She would get the files another way. She would steal them. She would hack them. She would do anything to avoid touching Norman. But for tonight, she needed a distraction. She needed Norman busy. And Emily was the distraction.

Aria’s thought was disrupted when the heavy oak door opened.

He stood there, leaning against the doorframe, looking devastatingly handsome in his tuxedo. His tie was already loosened, hanging around his neck like a scarf. His hair was slightly messed up, probably from running his hands through it in frustration while dealing with Miriam. But his eyes... his eyes were lit up with a warmth that chased away the cold darkness of the room.

He looked at the bed. He looked at the wine. He looked at Aria, posing there in her red dress, looking like a goddess of vengeance and love.

“Baby…. You made a reservation for us?” Ethan asked, his voice husky.

He pushed off the doorframe and walked towards her. He didn't see the trap. He didn't see the guilt. He just saw the woman he loved waiting for him in a private sanctuary away from the noise and the drama.

“Yes, Ethan….. it's a collaboration so let's make it memorable today,” Aria said.

She stood up and walked to him. She picked up her wine glass and took another sip, needing the liquid courage. She then held the glass up to his lips.

“Drink,” she whispered. “You look like you need it.”

Ethan seeped a little of the wine, his eyes never leaving hers. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. He looked tired, but happy.

As he started taking off his tie and shirt just to get relief, throwing them onto a nearby chair.

“You have no idea,” Ethan groaned. “ Hannah… Miriam. It is a circus out there. Everyone wants a piece of the Malcovich name. Miriam was never like this…..” He looked at her with such intensity it made her knees weak. “You are the only one who just wants me.”

The lie tasted sour in her mouth. If only you knew, Ethan. If only you knew I am the biggest liar of them all.

“How did you handle Miriam and her mother Ethan,” Aria asked.

She needed to keep him talking. She needed to keep him focused on her, not on the sounds that might come from the room next door. She climbed on the bed while caressing his chest from the back.

She moved like a cat, graceful and predatory. She knelt behind him on the mattress, her body pressing against his broad back. She wrapped her arms around him, her hands sliding over the crisp white fabric of his undershirt before finding the skin beneath. His skin was hot. He felt solid. Real. He was the only real thing in her life right now.

“I have cleared everything Norah,” Ethan said, leaning back into her touch. He closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh. “I told the security to escort them out. I told Miriam that if she ever approached you again, I would ruin her social standing permanently.”

He turned his head slightly, trying to look at her.

“Thank God you're here. They just wanted to give me a migraine. They are vultures, Norah. But you… you are my peace.”

Before Ethan could finish up Aria had already started kissing him on his neck.

She couldn't let him talk about peace. There was no peace here. There was only desperation. She pressed her lips to the sensitive cord of his neck, sucking gently, tasting the salt on his skin. She needed to claim him. She needed to mark him so that no matter what happened tomorrow, he would know he belonged to her.

She moved her hair to the side, letting it cascade over his shoulder, creating a curtain that shut out the rest of the world. She kissed his jaw, his ear, the pulse point that was beating rapidly under her lips.

Ethan groaned, a low, primal sound that vibrated through his chest and into hers. He turned in her arms, his strength taking over.

Ethan turned and carried Aria softly to the bed.

He handled her like she was made of precious glass, yet with the hunger of a starving man. He laid her down on the black silk sheets. The contrast of her red dress against the black bedding was striking. It looked like blood on oil.

He hovered over her, his eyes scanning her face. “You are so beautiful it hurts,” he whispered. “I don't want to talk about them anymore. I just want you.”

He reached down. His hands were large and warm.

As he dragged Aria's red gown up. The silk slid up her thighs, bunching at her waist. The cool air of the room hit her skin, but Ethan’s heat followed immediately. He looked at her, at her exposed legs, at the scrap of lace she wore.

The sound of the tearing fabric was loud and shocking. Rrrrip. It was a violent act done with overwhelming passion. It wasn't aggressive in a mean way; it was urgent. It was a man who couldn't wait one more second to be inside the woman he loved.

“Come Ethan, you can pull it off gently.”

She tried to joke, tried to keep the mood light, but her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might bruise her ribs.

“No… I can't,” Ethan said in a hush. His voice was wrecked. “I have been wanting to do this since I saw you in that dress. I have been wanting to do this since you walked back into my life.”

He didn't wait. He didn't hesitate.

As he took his lip down on her clit and started sucking passionately.

Aria gasped, her back arching off the bed involuntarily. The sensation was electric. It was immediate. Ethan wasn't holding back. He was worshipping her body with a focus that was terrifying. His tongue swirled, his lips pulled, and his hands gripped her hips, pinning her to the mattress.

Aria almost dragged herself back in pleasure. It was too much. It was too good. The guilt, the fear, the image of Emily next door—it all started to blur, washed away by the waves of pleasure Ethan was forcing onto her.

“Huh…. Oohhhh baby…”

Her fingers dug into the black silk, twisting the fabric. She threw her head back, staring at the ceiling but seeing nothing. All she could feel was Ethan.

Aria cried out but Ethan continued. He didn't stop. He knew her body better than she knew it herself. He knew exactly where to touch, exactly how much pressure to apply. He was relentless. He wanted to make her forget everything but him.

“Right there baby.”

She tangled her fingers in his thick, dark hair, pulling him closer, anchoring him to her. She needed this release. She needed to shatter so she could put herself back together again.

It hit her like a lightning strike. The climax ripped through her body, starting in her core and shooting out to her fingertips. She screamed his name,

She trembled, her body convulsing in the aftershocks. Ethan stayed with her, soothing her with soft kisses on her inner thighs until the shaking stopped.

Then, he moved up.

Ethan raised his head and met Aria with a passionate kiss. He tasted like her. He tasted like intimacy. He kissed her deeply, swallowing her cries, breathing his air into her lungs.

She looked up at him. His face was flushed, his pupils blown wide. He looked at her with such naked vulnerability it made her chest ache.

Ethan stared deeply at her and said, “It's the two of us baby….. I can't have enough of you.”

“It’s the two of us.” The words echoed in her mind. Just them. No Marcus. No Norman. No Emily. For this second, in this room, it was true.

She felt it in her bones. This wasn't a job anymore. It hadn't been a job for a long time. She loved him. She loved the son of her enemy.

She knew deeply that Ethan genuinely loved her but she felt pain because her life is filled with lies. Every "I love you" was a dagger. Every kiss was a betrayal.

She couldn't let him see the pain in her eyes. She had to keep moving. She had to keep the fire burning so he wouldn't see the tears.

Aria sat up. She moved with a sudden, fierce energy. She pushed him back onto the pillows. She wanted to be in control. She needed to be on top, so she could watch the door, so she could make sure he didn't hear anything from the hallway.

Her hands were shaking, but she fumbled with his belt, unzipping his pants, pushing them down his hips. He helped her, kicking them off, leaving himself bare to her gaze.

She wanted to please him, just like he pleased her. She wanted to give him everything she had. She took his dick into her mouth, loving the sound of his sharp intake of breath. She loved the way his hips bucked off the mattress. She loved the power she had over him.

She climbed over him, positioning herself. She sank down slowly, taking all of him. She gasped as he filled her, a feeling of completion that was both physical and emotional.

The red dress was in the way. She shimmied it up and over her head, tossing it aside. It landed on the floor like a pool of blood. She was naked now, exposed under the bright lights of the room.

And was humping and riding on Ethan's dick. She set a hard, fast pace. She needed the friction. She needed the pain and the pleasure to drown out her thoughts.

She threw her head back, her long dark hair flying around her like a wild halo. She rode him with desperation. She rode him like she was running away from something.

“Norah! God… yes… just like that!”

He reached up, his hands finding her body.

While fumbling on her nipples and breast. He squeezed, his touch rough and demanding. He watched her bounce on top of him, his eyes filled with worship.

“You are mine,” Ethan growled, his voice guttural. “Say it. Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” Aria cried out, looking down at him. “I’m yours, Ethan! Only yours!”

And at that moment, she wasn't lying.

“Look at me,” Ethan commanded, grabbing her hips to help her thrust. “Don't close your eyes. I want to see you.”

Aria looked at him. Sweat was beading on his forehead. The muscles in his neck were strained. He was so beautiful.

“I love you,” she whispered, the words slipping out before she could stop them.

“I love you too,” Ethan groaned. “I love you so much that it scares me.”

He thrust up hard, meeting her on every downward stroke. The rhythm became frantic. The bed creaked. The sounds of their skin slapping together filled the room.

He arched his back off the bed, a roar tearing from his throat. Aria felt him release inside her, warm and pulsing. She collapsed on top of him, her own body spent, her energy drained.

She lay there, her face buried in the crook of his neck, listening to his heart hammer against his ribs. It was slowing down, but it was still fast.

Ethan wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. He kissed the top of her head, stroking her back with long, soothing motions.

“You are amazing,” he whispered. “I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn it.”

Aria closed her eyes tight, fighting back the tears. You didn't do anything, Ethan. You just fell in love with a liar.

She lay there in the silence, the aftermath of their passion settling around them like dust. But the silence wasn't peaceful. It was heavy.

From the other side of the wall, faintly, she thought she heard a sound. A thud. A muffled cry? Or was it just her imagination? Was it Emily?

Aria stiffened slightly.

“What is it?” Ethan asked, sensing her tension.

“Nothing,” Aria lied quickly. “Just… catching my breath.”

She thought about the room next door. She thought about Norman. She thought about Marcus’s text.

“It's part of Marcus' plan, focus on the Malcovich but just that I'm still with the son. But it's still the same,” Aria thought within.

She justified it to herself. She was with Malcovich. She was keeping the heir distracted.

She couldn't leave yet. If she opened that door, she might see Norman leaving the other room. She might see Emily. She couldn't let Ethan see that.

“I will have to wait for Norman and Emily to leave first.” She thought within.

She snuggled closer to Ethan, closing her eyes, pretending to sleep, while she waited for the sound of the devil walking down the hallway.