[Bonus chapter] Plans and Pleasure

OH BOY ADULT STUFF!!!!

Aria wakes up the next day to warm sunshine caressing her skin, a soft heartbeat beneath her ear and a heavy weight slung over her waist, her eyes flutter, taking in the pale skin, the stack of papers on the nightstand, and the black robe slung over the armchair, memories of the previous night filter in and she settles in the embrace long enough that listlessness begins to draw her mind to reckless ideas - she should be abashed by the intimacy she's indulging in with a mere stranger - Aria shifts slowly, hoping to catch a glimpse of this stupidly composed man at his most vulnerable, writers did always wax poetically about the significance of watching one in the bliss of sleep, but she finds dark eyes, heavy - lidded and intense in their focus, watching her already. Aria blinks rapidly, a smirk unfurling on her lips, a laugh hiding in her chest, and for what reason?

What reason is there for the silly giddiness welling in her gut?

Perhaps it is the warmth of sharing a bed with someone, of waking to another person cradling your body close as if you were a precious jewel...Aria could think of many pretty ways of justifying her pleasure but why must she, when the truth is the simple need to have a connection, however poor, to feel less alone in the world, it is what motivates her to keep crossing over her own boundaries.

What was that saying?

Desperate times call for desperate actions.

Aria had known only the void for centuries, a cold, loveless darkness, and then when she'd seen the brightness of daylight, felt the joy of breathing air for the first time, she'd known coldness too; everything has a price, her rebirth would exact the highest of them all. The system is an egoistic controlling being, treating Aria like a marionette on strings, without will or voice. Aria had experienced that when her father planned her life like a well-researched business plan and -

Her mind throbs, wincing she screws her eyes shut, the light suddenly becoming piercing.

Hanjun rises instantly, gathering her body in his arms and running his eyes over her, he doesn't ask pointless questions but directs her to swallow medicine and water; he must have prepared them in advance, thoughtful to the end.

It hits her then - this man had been nothing but thoughtful, giving without the expectation of receiving, had seen her attempt at seduction as the all-consuming need for oblivion, had seen the demons in her eyes, connected them to his own demons and made the reckless decision to give them both what they needed, even after their harsh parting he'd taken a glimpse of her in trouble and despite his caution, had mixed in her murk again, even when she stupidly sunk her feet in the quicksand. He'd taken her to his home, risked his divorce settlement, risked losing the battle he'd been fighting for 5 years, all without taking advantage of her.

She'd seen many things in her life, but never had Aria ever met a man so chivalrous, like a knight in a fairy-tale, like a hero that saved the world and yet remained humble still.

Unbidden, a chuckle rises to the surface, he glances down at her, brows furrowed, Aria smiles, runs a hand over his firm chest before her hand tangles with his own.

"You want to be free of your harpy of a wife?"

She asks, tilting her head back.

"Not quite harpy yet, but yes." He laughs, the sound restrained and low, soothing in its tenor.

"Then it is quite simple. First, you must pay a private investigator anonymously to investigate yourself," Aria sits up, wriggling her limbs to get the blood flowing.

"Why must I do that?"

He answers casually, in a way that shows he is only indulging her. Aria will do well to rectify that.

She crawls over him, sliding over the edge, nimbly making her way to the bathroom, the older man follows her, pausing in the doorway where he meets her eyes asking silently for assent. She holds up a finger, twirls it to indicate he turn around but tells him to wait there just beyond the cracked open door so her voice can be heard.

"Because she will do this when you implement the second step, this way you are already aware of what you need to bury and what you shouldn't."

"Step two?"

Aria flushes the toilet, pads to the sink, she nearly opens the cupboard in search for spare toiletries when her eyes travel down, finding a large variety of products, three of each, for women spread on the marble counter. Aria cannot help the soft chuckle.

"You need to aggravate that woman, press all her buttons, hire a pretty assistant, take her everywhere with you but always make sure there's another person always present and when she is not, have evidence at all times of your separate locations. You don't want her to muddle the story." Aria says, voice warbled by the foam in her mouth.

There's a considering hum, words that are too muffled to be understood, so she draws the door open and calls him inside, he is hesitant, stepping gingerly next to the opposite wall, where he crosses his arms and leans back. Aria winks in the mirror, smiling as he rolls his eyes, she spits the foam out, rinses her mouth, the tension in the room is palatable by the time she straightness, still she takes her time to wash her face, dab it gently, then apply moisturiser, all the while humming.

"Aria, if you continue to be infuriating, I shall consider this as nothing more than a poorly written play."

"As you wish your highness." Aria makes a show of sighing dramatically and bowing before the mirror.

Her smirk only widens when he crowds her into the edge of the counter, hands on either side of her hips, he notices her amusement, breaths in deeply, body pressing her down until there is no space between them, she can feel the cold edge of the marble digging into her lower back, can feel his hardness against her pelvis.

"Do you think I have not tried any of these methods? That I have let that woman walk all over me? No, Jin Aria. I am a man of means, do not assume me to be weak against a woman's willy charm, do not treat me like a child, I am far older than your schoolboys."

Aria's eyes narrow, her hands snap up but there is no shirt she can grab, instead the appendage settle over his throat, her slender hand a heavy contrast against his pale skin. This man dares to assume wisdom over her. She who has lived through eons of the void and a full human lifetime. She feels the rush of blood in her ears, the need to snarl, to break this small man to shreds, but the logical part of her brain whispers the fact that he had helped her, unwittingly for whatever reason, and so she owes him a debt that must be repaid.

"Considering that you are still married to her, you obviously are a schoolboy, your tactics are sensible in theory but useless in real life because they come from a man's mindset." She spits the words, each propelled by her fury.

Somehow, he pushes closer still, feels him take over every inch of her space until she is breathing him in, his paws wrapping just shy of punishing on her hips, he hauls her up, so she's seated on the counter, leans over her until his manhood is pressed where her body is pulsing with sick pleasure.

"Then tell me girl, what means have you?"

His voice is a deep, gravelly whisper caressing the outer shell of her ear, goose bumps race down her arms, her legs tighten around his hips involuntarily, he follows the movement, rolls his hips once, the friction drawing a strangled moan from Aria and a breathy grunt from Hanjun.

"Those two steps are merely...the foundation," Aria pauses, takes a deep drag of air, "what you do next determines the outcome. What is a woman's most important asset?"

He noses under her jaw, dropping butterfly pecks on the juncture, Aria tilts her head back, he nips at her skin playfully, only lowering the target of his teasing, frustrated, she grinds down and he hisses, grip becoming bruisingly tight. Then, his hips snap forward, the friction makes her toes curl, but he pauses, breathing heavily in her ear. Aria nearly whines in protest, she controls the urge, instead biting mercilessly on his lower lip.

His gaze meets hers, eyes dilated yet still so serious, his hands travel down, stopping just on the band of her shorts.

"May I?"

Aria very nearly gives in to the temptation.

"What do I get out of it?" She brushes her lips lightly over his.

"Pleasure."

Aria tilts her head, regally waving him on.

Hanjun slides the shorts over her legs slowly, thumbs caressing the skin in passing, and when the material drops, he lingers on her thighs for long torturous seconds before bending over to lavish the skin in kisses and bites, at last, reaching the highest point where her thighs meet her pelvis, his hands snake over her knees abruptly pulling them apart. He descents down despite her broken protest, dropping a long swipe over her most intimate place, her nerve endings on fire, core pulsing with need. Aria throws her head back, leaning on her elbows as lewd moans leave her mouth.

He takes her apart slowly at first, each swipe of the tongue kitten-like and slow, builds up the pace until her muscles quiver and her hips buckle, held in place by his large hand spread over her belly, abruptly, he retreats just when she's near the peak, leaving her writhing and throbbing, then he repeats the process all over again. His free hand trails over her thigh, goes up and up until it cups her breast, squeezes in time with his tongue.

"Your plan, Aria?"

Hanjun retreats suddenly, he does not hide his mischievous smirk, somehow, she finds that expression rather pleasant, where she would have stricken any man or woman in the past for that kind of impertinence – and that's a thought for later.

"Reputation. You destroy her reputation," she says through gritted teeth.

He leans down, hums against her leg, but does not move otherwise. This dammed man! Fine, if he wants to play that game, two can play at it. Aria swings a leg over his shoulder, hauls his t-shirt over her head, leaning back further she knows her gifted breasts are on full display, casually, Aria swipes the hair tie off, allowing her black waves to frame her body. Hanjun's jaw clenches, a muscle ticking.

"You have people spread rumours, then fabricate evidence to somewhat support those."

Aria uses her index finger to tap his chin, slightly lifting his head.

"Then you go after her career, does she have one?"

"She inherited a trading company from her father, but an advisor is managing it."

His voice is hoarse when he speaks, sending a new wave of want in Aria, he nuzzles her upper thigh, sucking and biting the skin, purple marks will mar her thighs for days, she knows.

"Perfect, a company like that will undoubtedly be riddled with corruption. Expose it to the world."

"And then? What evil will you have me do?"

"Be very insistent about the divorce. She will be desperate, her beloved husband is badgering her for a divorce, her acquittances shun her, her career in ruins, this will be your most critical point; hire someone who looks like you to seduce her. Then, you will take that evidence and confront her privately. She'll be sure to agree to a quiet divorce with a promise of restoring her reputation and company." Aria taps his jaw, marvelling in its sharpness.

He is handsome indeed, like a refined wine aged perfectly, each feature sculpted by the hands of an architect, eyes more intense than hell's fire.

"You are wicked, dear, but we shall see. Now, your reward."

Hanjun trails a path of kisses from her knee to her upper thigh, where he sighs contently before diving lower to lick fervently at her bud, her legs try to close in around his head, but his hands grip them wide open. She can do nought but tremble through the intense pleasure of every precise stroke aimed at driving her off the edge of sanity, Aria comes with a guttural cry, Hanjun's name on her lips. He licks gently through the aftershocks until it becomes too much, and Aria must grip his hair to pull him away, he leans back, a wolfish grin stretched on his lips.

"You have no idea how beautiful you are, darling. I would keep you in my bed for an eternity, pleasure you in ways you have never been, make you my goddess and my hearth." He says reverently.

Aria feels gut-punched, the fervour of his words leaves her breathless...Aria cannot remember her past life entirely, but she knows deep in her soul that she has never received such pretty words, even if they were empty, a man's word in the bedroom amounted to little, but the rush of power it gives her makes her heady, light in a way she's never experienced. A tiny voice in the back of her mind whispers...so that's how it feels to be appreciated as a woman should be.

"You will be free, Kim Hanjun, and when you are, perhaps give me a call?"

"It's a date."