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"Hey, Erza, what'cha reading?"
'Crap,' she thinks; 'they've found me.'
Everyone is entitled to a little down time every once in a while.
There are many ways in which we all choose to relax when the occasion calls for it. For some people, recreational time is going out and enjoying the breeze and sitting in Magnolia park to take in the atmosphere. For others, it may be playing board games with fellow guild mates or spending time after that mission they've just completed to explore the place for a while.
But, for Erza, it's reading. Erza loves to read. She remembers getting her passion for all things book-ish from Levy when she was younger and she remembers curiously watching the younger girl steadily stack up her ever-growing book supply in her dorm room, eventually thinking; 'Hey, why don't I go see what she finds so great about these things?'
So she did. And she's been hooked ever since.
Yep, a book and a slice of strawberry cake by her side is all she needs as she sits comfortably in her favourite chair somewhere between the shelves of the guild library. She'd received this particular piece of fiction from Levy just days ago and already it's proving to be up there amongst all the other favourites. The characters are intriguing and humorous with all that depth and charisma and those little quirky points that make Erza want to keep on going and see where their hilarious antics will take them. They're funny, but they also each have this little slice of mystery just on the side and Erza doesn't know what this will possibly bring, but she can't wait to find out.
The moment of revelation comes but a chapter later.
It had all started off pretty safe like usual. The characters - the two main characters – met in a work environment as one travelled into the city for a simple, harmless interview. Then the second character – he was especially intriguing – had accepted their application and they began working side-by-side.
And then the plot thickened.
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"Sir," the PA breathed, her heart now thumping within her chest as he advanced slowly towards her,eyes dark with an emotion that she couldn't quite put her finger on. "Sir, what… What is it you want from me?"
Her question lingered for some seconds until Alejandro paused and grinned a devilish grin that did her pounding heart no favours.
"Jo…" the Boss purred and her knees felt a little weak; "Jo, you are indeed my most loyal employee to date. I intend to give you a… rather special reward for your efforts."
Joanna blushed vividly. "S-Sir! Wha-What do you-"
She gasped as her Boss' hands firmly gripped her hips, moulding their bodies close together, his hot breath rolling slowly down her neck…
"You know what this is, Joanna?"
She barely had time to glance back down at the object he produced from his trench coat when suddenly she found her left wrist bound in a metal cuff. Joanna was about to squeal in shock, but Alejandro cut her off as he in one swift movement lifted her from the ground and set her down on the surface of his desk. There was a clicking noise as the other end of her cuff was secured (albeit awkwardly) to the leg of the furniture. Alejandro was quick to secure her free hand in the same way before she could even protest.
The words were taken from her mouth and her Boss smirked at her speechless self.
"Ah…" he sighed in satisfaction and wandered to slide open part of the desk. Jo's jaw dropped when she caught sight of the whip tucked away in the drawer. "Am I going to enjoy this…"
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Yeah. Erza was into smut.
Smut.
But she just couldn't help it! Oh, how dirty and shameful she feels each time she turns the pages and continues to read as her two protagonists go at it crazily against a wall or a desk or somewhere equally inappropriate. But the passion and the thrill and the emotional journeys they undergo as they experience this filthy, yet delicious side of romance...
"Ah..." Erza leans back in her chair and lets her love for a good piece of literature wash over her, not to mention the way it so easily quelled her restlessness in her own loveless life (though she wouldn't even dare admit it to herself).
But, then again, this plot is wildly different than the last she read! So scandalous! The last few novels were all full of love confessions and smut scenes soaked in tender caring and a mutual understanding that each character's desires were so pure and honest...
Yet here Joanna is thrust quite literally into a salacious world of pain and bondage and it's so exciting and intriguing and so, so filthy that Erza just can't help but keep on reading. She's never read anything this risqué. She's never so vividly imagined the tight straps of the Boss' leather binds rub raw against her wrists or the harsh, yet strangely delightful kiss of his whip bite into her hot skin and Erza finds she fully understands why Joanna might be screaming out to beg for more.
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"Ale-Alejandro!"
"Yeah, baby," the Boss of the office growled like a wild, untamed beast (and oh, how the thought had Joanna screaming all the louder!) and his whip retracted only to be replaced by the gentle, yet searing kiss his lips deliver to the soft, bruised skin of her thigh. His fingers massaged the skin, slowly moving ever closer to that sensitive spot between her legs and he smirked mischievously at her; "Scream it – I want you to scream that 'til I'm done with you and then…"
Joanna gasped quite audibly as he tugged at the hem of her lacy underwear, peering down with cheeks blazing a brilliant red at the sight of him knelt before her exposed self, licking his lips and ready to spring. She opened her mouth to prompt him to continue-
And he pounced. She screamed in shock and then delight, her fingers gripping the edges of the battered table as he feasted, only glancing back up to finish his sentence;
"And then, Jo," (his breath was heavy and frequent on her and she had to try hard to remain focused) "I'm gonna flip you round and start all over again."
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She blushes brilliantly as she buries her nose deeper into the smut and she's aware that there's a heat beginning to build somewhere further down (oh, God, she must calm down, but she just can't, so she just keeps going!) and Alejandro growls again – a growl she pictures perfectly – as he raises himself above the PA's helpless body and lowers himself so seductively until-
"Hey, Erza, what'cha reading?"
Titania nearly jumps from her seat and snaps the book shut with a loud 'thump!' before they can get a glance of the paragraph she's halfway through.
"Erza?" Natsu cocks his head to the side in a manner that may have been adorable had he not just interrupted her private reading. "Oi, you're looking mighty red, you okay?"
His concern is sweet, but unappreciated.
"Natsu!" Erza tries to sound threatening, but her voice fails her and it wavers nervously beyond her control. "N-N-Natsu..! No-Noth-"
Lucy, beside the fire-breathing idiot, frowns a little. "Erza?" The word is full of confusion. Her eyes flicker down to the book in her lap which she so conspicuously covers with clammy hands. Erza is just glad it's only the back facing upright and not the cover with the gleaming chains and shiny handcuffs. She flushes further when Gray too begins to frown at the covered blurb.
"A-Ah, I," Erza tries to compose herself and wipe that tale-telling blush from her cheeks (which is impossible because it's so bright it could probably rival the colour of her own hair) as she thinks up an excuse; "I- I just-" (she coughs) "I'm fine, Natsu. I just wanted a peaceful morning." And she's glad with the newfound confidence she's managed to muster up and decides to quickly change the subject. "What are you doing here?"
Natsu grins that cheerful, upbeat grin and proudly holds up a job request. "Gotta job! Wanted to know if you wanted to come with us. Ain't a team without you, after all!"
Erza has calmed down a little now and smiles gratefully at his statement. "Thank you, Natsu. I shall be ready by the afternoon, just let me go and pack a few things."
Natsu's face lights up again in triumph because, after all, he's just pried the Erza Scarlet away from one of her favourite hobbies and he celebrates with Happy in the background whilst Gray shakes his head and quietly makes comments questioning their intelligence. Erza sighs at them and decides to just get out of here and get ready (and calm herself down a little bit because the heat's still there on her cheeks and… elsewhere… and she could do with a break from such hard-core, scandalous materials for one day) until-
"Erza!"
The horrified shriek from Lucy startles her and she turns back to question; "Lucy? Wha-"
Ah. Now she knows why the blonde is flushing and Natsu's jaw has dropped and possibly even why Gray's shirt has just disappeared.
It is a well-known fact that Erza usually likes to buy in bulk. Cakes, armour, dresses…
And the next two editions of '50 Jewels' that she's forgotten she's left beneath her seat…
The cover's even more naughty than the first one – even with its shiny handcuffs and bondage. The shadow of a woman on the top of a desk is cast against the wall of an empty office corridor. Her legs are spread wide and a leash hangs from the collar round her neck to the hand of her superior who pulls hard and grabs her thigh and – oh God – she's fairly sure that's a horse whip jutting rather conspicuously out of the back of his trouser pocket…
It's deliciously filthy and Erza truthfully can't wait to read it and discover where Alejandro and Joanna's relationship will eventually go, but right now she's got a far more pressing issue on her hands: How does she explain the stack of kinky, erotica found on her person without sounding like a magnificent pervert?
She can't and she just ends up stuttering uselessly again.
"Erza's got some naughty books!" Happy points at them, waving a paw urgently in their direction.
"Erza…" Gray sounds choked into speechlessness as he picks up the cover of the second edition and scans over the back.
"Oh my God," Lucy is reluctant, but she edges nearer and stares with eyes as wide as plates at said salacious edition; "this is that new series that's just come out… This stuff is so big, yet so taboo!"
Natsu giggles so childishly that for a moment everyone wonders whether he's thinking of the same thing until he grins mischievously and says; "Always knew that sorta stuff was right up ya street!"
He proceeds to make a comment which touches on her dominant nature and he's unconscious on the floor in seconds. They all act like he was never even there for fear of experiencing the same armour plate to the temples except Happy who waddles over (as always) and giggles a little at his misfortune.
"Idiot," Gray mutters before putting down the hardback novel; "Erza, I always knew you liked the lovey-dovey kind of thing–" (the red-headed mage doesn't even comment and looks at the floor in shame. Gray's known about these for years after that one fateful encounter in the bookstore, but he's never seen her with something quite like this) "–but rough bondage?"
"Oh God," Lucy covers her cheeks, squeaking like a schoolgirl; "I can't even look at it!" She shakes her head as if to rid her mind of the images and suggestions such cover illustrations bring. She's open-minded, but somewhat naïve in the ways of romance (or this kind at least) and it's expected of her to be so shocked when she discovers one of her best friends reading porn in the Fairy Tail library.
There's a pause during which Lucy tries to calm her nerves and Erza works up the courage to speak. It's strange to see Titania – normally so fierce and confident and authoritative – so deathly quiet, stranger so to find her voice reduced to something wavering and nervous.
"I- I just borrowed it!" she insists. "I was curious, so, naturally, I-"
"Erza, is that a receipt as a bookmark?"
And there's pause again – an uncomfortable, uneasy pause – in which Erza finds herself thoroughly silenced. She thinks and thinks and racks her brain for something to say, but... to no avail. It's over. They've caught her. They can now walk away knowing that the great, S-Class mage Erza Scarlet is a closet pervert. She cringes and hangs her head in shame like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar as she realises that the two have fully twigged that, yes, she did not borrow those books. They are hers. She owns them. She is an obscene, indecent person inside and how will she ever convince them to accept her again oh God what will she do she can't get rid of good books she still wants to read them maybe if she gets one of them to punch her all will be well..?
Erza is panicking inside. Awkward silence reigns until Gray hums in thought and wonders aloud;
"So, they any good?"
"Gray!"
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A/N: Because we all know Erza's secretly a dirty pervert at times.