Chapter 262: My idiot got jealous

He closed the remaining distance between them.

His mouth came down on hers. It was a possessive kiss, marking her. In the freezing air, their hot, mingled breath plumed like silver smoke, his tongue tracing her lips and parting them to claim the sweet, intoxicating taste of her. Aria sighed into his mouth, her arms winding tightly around his neck, pulling him down until the world shrank to just the two of them on that quiet balcony.

When they finally broke apart, Aria let out a breathy, breathless giggle, licking her glistening lower lip.

"Mmm," she hummed, resting her forehead against his chest. "I finally got to taste you after an entire hellish week. I love you, my darling fiancé."

"And I love my future Duchess of Reedings," Eren replied smoothly, planting a soft peck on the tip of her nose. "Even if she’s terribly needy past midnight."

Aria laughed with a clear, musical sound that rang out into the quiet night.

She shifted, sitting back up onto the velvet cushions, and gently pulled his arm over her shoulders. She leaned her head comfortably against his shoulder, snuggling into his side.

For a long time, neither of them spoke.

They sat together beneath the endless sky, watching the stars glitter across the horizon. On this balcony, there was only the steady beat of his heart against her cheek, a quiet sanctuary made from promises and unshakeable affection.

Eventually, the breeze picked up. Aria shivered slightly, pulling herself closer against his ribs, her slender fingers tightening around his forearm.

Eren looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. "Cold, my lady? Shall I go inside and retrieve a heavy fur blanket to protect the delicate Reedings constitution?"

Aria lifted her chin slowly, her golden eyes meeting his blue gaze, glowing with a sultry, unmistakable heat that had nothing to do with the night sky.

"A blanket...?" Aria murmured, her lips curling into a slow, dangerous, breathtaking smile. "Maybe. Or perhaps my clever fiancé can find an alternative method to provide his fiancée some proper warmth."

"Careful, my lady," Eren murmured, his voice raspy. "You’re playing with fire."

Aria arched a delicate brow, her eyes mocking as she gave his thigh a languid, insolent tap. "Oh? Fore? Forgive me, darling, but after witnessing the cavalry charge Captain Emma conducted on your person an hour ago, I naturally assumed the great rogue’s fabled vitality was entirely spent."

"You talk entirely too much for someone shivering in a sheer nightgown," Eren shot back.

With effortless, sudden grace, he caught her by the waist and gently tipped her backward onto the cushions. Aria gasped softly, her blue hair fanning out across the plush. She crossed her arms with an indignant little hmpf, pouting up at him, though the faint flush creeping up her swan-like neck gave the game away entirely.

Eren planted his hands on either side of her shoulders, hovering over her frame, his hot breath brushing her parted lips.

"How dare you insult my vitality, Lady Reedings," he whispered, a glint flashing in his sapphire eyes. "You wound my pride."

"And what, pray tell, does the wounded rogue intend to do about it?" she taunted, tilting her chin up with a haughty, breathtaking smirk.

Eren let out a chuckle. His hands drifted down, grabbing the hem of her gown.

"Simple," he purred, his knuckles brushing the bare knee as he slowly bunched the fabric upward. "I’m going to eat you as an official court reprimand."

Aria blinked in confusion. "Eat...? What on earth are you—"

Before she could finish the thought, Eren rucked the thin gown all the way past her waist, bunching the fabric over her ribs.

The silver moonlight illuminated her in all her breathtaking glory: flawless pale skin, the smooth, sculpted taper of her waist, and soft, shapely thighs framed by a pair of midnight-blue panties. Aria had clearly anticipated a private reunion from the moment they checked into the inn; the sheer silk of her smalls was already clinging to her skin with moisture.

Eren lowered his head, pressing a warm, lingering kiss right against her navel, then trailed his lips softly across the flat plane of her stomach.

"Ah—wait—Eren, stop," Aria giggled breathlessly, squirming against the cushions as the tickle of his lips sent electric shivers straight to her spine. "That tickles, you lunatic—"

His only reply was a quiet, muffled hum against her skin.

Then he peeled the damp panties down the smooth slope of her thighs, sliding the fabric off her slender ankles and casually tossing it onto the low marble table.

Gently, firmly, Eren parted her thighs, letting her knees rest over the edges of the settee to lay her completely open to his gaze.

The soft, weeping petals of her entrance, pristine pink, and practically dripping.

Eren leaned close, letting out a low, admiring whistle. "Well, well. Look at that."

He lightly traced his index finger along the slick crease of her outer lips.

"Look how utterly soaked my proud, untouchable noblewoman is," he teased. "You spent an entire evening lecturing Emma, but down here? You’ve been starving for it since we met again."

"Shut your filthy mouth, Eren..." Aria cursed, her head falling back as her breath hitched sharply.

Eren didn’t stop. His thumb pressed down with a firm, circular rhythm against her clit, coaxing another ragged gasp from her throat. Then, coating his fingers in her slick warmth, he pressed the blunt tip of his index finger into her tight entrance—and slid inside.

"Eep—ahhh!"

A startled cute little squeak tore past Aria’s lips, immediately dissolving into a high, shuddering moan. Her spine bowed off the couch as the sudden, scalding fullness stretched her sensitive walls.

Eren let out a quiet, wicked chuckle at the adorable sound. "A little sensitive, are we? We’re barely past the preliminaries, my lady."

Without giving her a chance to recover, he nudged a second finger alongside the first, breaching her depths and finding the exact spongy, sensitive ridge. He curled his fingers inward with rhythmic, ruthless precision, pumping in and out with slow, agonizing friction.

"Ngh—Eren—wait—too fast—"

Aria’s soft thighs clamped hard around his forearm, her body instinctively trying to trap his hand, but Eren merely used the pressure to angle his knuckles deeper.

Her hips rolled involuntarily against his knuckles, desperately chasing the blinding friction he was stoking inside her. Her entire frame shuddered on the cushions, suspended in a haze of pure, intoxicating sensation.

Then Eren smoothly withdrew his hand.

Aria let out a weak, desperate whimper of denial.

Eren stayed kneeling between her parted legs. He lifted his hand into the pale moonlight, admiring his two fingers, completely coated and glistening with her juices.

Then without a word. Eren sucked both fingers into his mouth. He licked them entirely clean, making obnoxious, appreciative sounds.

Aria stared at him, her face burning, furious crimson from her chest to the tips of her ears.

"You... you crazy, shameless idiot..." she whispered weakly, covering her face with one arm to hide the hopeless smile.

"Exquisite vintage, Duchess," he murmured, his blue eyes burning with insatiable, wicked hunger. "Now... let’s start eating your pussy."