"It could be our secret," he whispered, his gaze falling on her pink lips as his hand caressed her face. They had only shared one little kiss in the last month and Ezra couldn't resist her any longer. He didn't care if she wasn't single, he didn't care if he was her teacher, he didn't care if they weren't together, he wanted her.
Breathing in sharply, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, reveling in the familiarity. While he was kissing her, though, he felt the lack of reaction from her. He hesitantly pulled away from the innocent kiss. He looked down at her, slightly frightened that Aria would bolt or abandon the whole idea of being with him, but his fear vanished once he felt her hand wrap around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. He met her lips halfway as her fingers entangled themselves in his hair.
Ezra wrapped his hand around her waist as he lowered himself more to meet her lips. He pulled away, meeting her eyes once again, before their equally hungry lips met each other again. Her other hand snaked around his waist as his free hand danced along her sides. It had been so long since they had been together, since they had kissed like this. Nevertheless, it felt as if they hadn't faced any problems. Right now, where they were, it was just them. It was Aria and Ezra. It wasn't Rosewood, it wasn't Jake, it wasn't Maggie and Malcolm, and it was not wrong.
Aria pulled away, in desperate need of catching her breath. Her hands rested against Ezra's chest as her breathing was slightly shaky, anticipating how the rest of the night would go. She closed her eyes and leaned into Ezra, listening to the fast beating of his heart.
Ezra pulled her closer and held her tightly in his arms. This was all he wanted; Ezra just wanted to hold her in her arms. A few weeks ago, when Aria was a mess in the stairwell, he just wanted to comfort her. When they had an impromptu meeting in the hallway of his apartment complex, he just wanted to pull her against him and protect her from the evil world, even though he was kind of a part of it.
He kissed the top of her head before ending the embrace and intertwining his fingers with hers. Aria glanced up at him with a hint of a smile. She sucked in a breath and murmured, "This is nice."
"I've missed you," Ezra whispered, scared for her response.
She didn't say anything, but just nodded and kissed his cheek. Aria stared into his eyes and made a quick internal decision. She glanced over to the bed against the wall and pulled Ezra towards it. Once she was a few inches away from the mattress, Ezra looked at her with surprise. It's not that he didn't want to. Right now, he could not care less about the teacher student rule. They were in too far at this point.
Aria sat down on the unfamiliar bed and stared up at Ezra. She read him like an open book, knowing what he was thinking. Their eyes met and Aria nodded silently. Ezra hunched over to kiss her as Aria scooted up on the bed, Ezra hovering over her.
Her hands unbuttoned his shirt, needing this as much as he did. She raised his undershirt over his head and sloppily kissed his neck. Once he was completely shirtless, she helped Ezra take off her dress and tossed it near the end of the bed. Aria quickly unbuckled his belt and Ezra took it off the rest of the way. He leaned back down over her, one of his hands grazing the hooks of her bra.
He stopped himself and rolled them over, so they were laying side by side, his hand still resting on her back. He kissed her nose before removing his hand. Aria shook her head a little before placing her hand on the side of his face. "Please," she mumbled, "don't stop."
He kissed her shoulder gently before meeting her eyes. Gulping, he asked, "Are you sure?"
In all honesty, she wasn't. She knew she still loved him, but there was a small voice in her mind saying this was a bad idea. But, that was only a tiny part of her. It didn't matter to the rest of her how many restrictions there were, she just needed her. Absolutely no one could comfort her like Ezra Fitz could. And her relationship with Jake being rocky, her mother being gone, and Ali being alive, she just needed to be comforted and consummated.
"I'm sure," she replied a few seconds after the question.
Ezra didn't waste time and unhooked her bra as fast as he could, tossing it somewhere in the cabin. His eyes roamed over the newly exposed flesh and started placing small kisses around the skin. Aria took deep breaths at the feeling as she ran her hands through his dark hair.
He teased her nipples as his hot breath covered her skin. Aria's hips involuntarily bucked against him, causing him to smile against her body. He moved down, pulling down her underwear as he went. Once he tugged them off of her, he tossed them over his shoulder, making them land on his couch.
He stood up and pulled down his own pants and boxers before placing small kisses along her hips. Aria tugged on his shoulder, causing him to look up. "Ezra, wait."
Ezra tried to hide his disappointment, but obeyed nonetheless. He laid beside her and looked at her. "Aria, I –"
"I want you," she mumbled, out of breath.
He hardened at her words before hovering over her once again and kissing her roughly. She smiled a little against his lips before pulling away. "Wait, let me get my purse."
Ezra watched as she got up off the bed, powerwalking towards her bag. She quickly pulled out a square of foil before heading back to the bed. She hastily opened the package and rolled the protection down Ezra's hardened length.
He rolled them over, placing open mouthed kisses on her neck, refraining from making any hickeys just in case. Ezra positioned himself at her entrance before gently entering her. Aria moaned at the feeling as her hands wrapped around his neck, pulling his lips towards his.
They kissed passionately as he pushed himself deeper inside her, Aria moaning against his mouth. Despite all the conflicts they were facing, both together and individually, this felt absolutely right. This wasn't just meaningless sex either, this was making love.
Ezra placed his thumb to her clit, causing her to scream his name out in pleasure. He thrust harder into her as Aria's breathing was rapid. His free hand caressed her breasts and Aria bit her lip as her back arched into Ezra, feeling herself let go.
After she came, Ezra reciprocated the action, both of them reaching their highs simultaneously. They were both panting as Ezra rested his head on her chest. After a few seconds of just laying there, basking in the afterglow, Ezra pulled out and disposed of the condom.
Aria got up as well, tossing on Ezra's button up shirt to cover her bare, sweaty body. She was still a little cold and grabbed a quilt from the end of the bed, wrapping it around her shoulders. She stepped into the kitchen and started making a kettle of tea.
Ezra watched her as she worked in the kitchen. She was being awfully quiet and distant. Usually, after making love, they would cuddle in the sheets, their lips not being able to stay apart. Ezra didn't say anything, but just threw back on his boxers and undershirt.
As she waited for it to brew, she looked around the cabin. It was a nice place and she smiled slightly at the thought of spending time with Ezra here. She wasn't kidding when she said it was like a place they talked about before everything about their relationship got shot to hell.
She sighed a little before resting at the window, staring vacantly outside of it. They were surrounded by trees and the sky was dark. She didn't know what she was looking for, maybe trying to see if any hooded figures followed them here, but couldn't stop from looking outdoors.
Ezra watched as she stared outside, confused as to what could be so interesting about the bland forest. He noticed that the rug had moved slightly, revealing the basement door, and his heart started beating a little. Could he just have one nice night with Aria and not have to be reminded by the horrible addiction he just couldn't stop? The kettle started screeching, but Aria barely noticed. Ezra jumped at the chance to get up and kicked the rug back in position as he walked to the kitchen.
He turned off the stove and cautiously walked to where Aria was sitting. He tapped her shoulder, causing her to jump a bit at his touch. Ezra flinched at her shock and crouched down beside her. "Aria, what's wrong?"
Aria's lip trembled and she wasn't sure where to begin. She decided that she didn't want to begin and waved him off. "It doesn't matter, just go back to bed."
Ezra stood up and tugged her up as well off the window seat. "Only if you'll go back to bed too."
She nodded and walked hand in hand with him back to the new sacred ground. Aria shrugged off the quilt and tossed it to the edge of the bed before she crawled under the sheets. Ezra got in the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. He tilted her chin up, causing her to look him in the eye.
"Whatever it is," he started, "it does matter." Aria sighed shakily and swallowed down the lump in her throat. Ezra rubbed her back and assured, "It's okay, it's okay."
Aria clenched her jaw as she sat up a little. "It's just been unbelievably hard these last few months." Ezra hated himself for being part of the reason why it was so hard. He continued patting her back as she kept letting her guard down.
"I've missed you, and I've tried to just move on, but I'm not fooling myself. Jake's great, but…" Aria gulped before admitting, "he's not you."
Ezra really didn't want to talk about her current boyfriend while they were lying in bed together, but could tell Aria needed to let these words off her chest, so he let her press on. "And my brother is God knows where when my dad's not around, my mom's in a whole different continent, I'm still getting texts from horny sophomores, and the girls… they're busy with their own problems."
"Aria, you know I'm here for you, right?" Ezra questioned. "I know we haven't been together, but I'm always going to be here for you. I promise."
"Why though?" Aria interrogated. "I – I don't deserve that. You're always there for me, but I'm never there for you."
Ezra looked at her tiredly and started, "Aria, you – "
"It's true!" she protested. "You were there for me with the car and Mike and just everything, but when you called me about Malcolm, I couldn't even bother to answer the damn phone."
"It's fine," he reassured. "I get it, you're trying to move on. I shouldn't have tried to involve you."
Seconds passed before either of them spoke again. "Ezra, do you really wanna do this again? All the sneaking around, the lying…"
"It's worth it," Ezra interrupted. "If it means I can have you in my life, it's worth it."
Aria smiled. "You mean that?"
He pulled her closer to him and nodded. "Of course. Aria, I lo- I love you."
She felt her eyes water and her insides flutter, but she couldn't find it in her to say it back. Instead, she kissed him intensely and embraced him.
Ezra didn't even care that she didn't say it back. All he cared about was that Aria, his Aria, was in his arms. Ezra had even got her to open up to him, to trust him. Once they got back to Rosewood, things might turn back to the way they were yesterday, but Ezra sort of doubted it. He might have actually won Aria back and that meant the world to him. Aria was everything to him and now that he possibly had her back, Ezra could finally sleep soundly, especially since she was safe in his arms.