Chapter 14
AN: I'm terribly sorry I made you guys wait so long for this, I really am. But I've had it rough these past few weeks, although I'm not going to waste time talking about that. I'll just say that my uncle died in the landslide in Washington that happened in late March. Anyway, I hope you kids like this chapter. Had to scrap it twice just to get it decent. Tell me what you think!
"You think you can just order me out of my home, my city, like some lowly peasant?" Aria snarled. The pirate queen lurched forward, balling her hands up in the collar of the general's uniform. Petrovsky's face remained stoic and hard. "You can take your threat and shove it up your ass." The monarch summoned her biotics, strengthening the muscles in her arms, before she launched him through the window of the balcony. The panes of glass shattered, creating numerous rips and cuts in Petrovsky's uniform and skin. He landed with a hard thud on the marble floor below. Aria jumped up on the ledge behind her famous couch.
"You believe you can just come into the heart of mercenary territory and expect to throw out the pirate queen?" Aria inquired, cold fury in her voice. She leapt down from her perch and landed a meter away, cracks spreading out from where her feet landed. The monarch darted forward the last few steps, once again snatching the dazed general by his white clothing. Aria drew back a fist and slammed it into his face, crunching the bone of his nose and causing scarlet blood to spurt from the wound. Petrovsky grunted in pain and the queen could hear him gritting his teeth.
"You honestly thought you could stride into the Inferno and not get burned?" the brunette roared in his face, spittle landing on the general's face. Aria's voice became deathly quiet. "You should be happy that you're going to meet your boss in hell." Aria drew back her fist again and punched Petrovsky's face over and over, until it was a bloody mass, nearly unrecognizable in its excessive deformity. Aria looked down at her white shirt, which was littered with crimson stains.
"Someone get this thing out of my face," Aria shouted, her voice echoing around the building. One of the guards rushed over, wrapped his thick arms under the general's armpits and dragged the corpse out of the Inferno.
"Can't stand the sight of men, Aria?" a familiar, accented voice asked as the main doors shut.
Aria's head whipped over to the double doors that led into the Inferno. A pale, beautiful face framed by brown hair so dark it was nearly black. She bore a black and white suit that clung to her shapely figure and was held together by only a zipper. Strapped over one of her shoulders was a well-worn leather bag that was filled with formless items. Her icy blue eyes didn't break their hold on Aria's own as the woman advanced toward the queen.
"Miranda Lawson, I'll be damned," Aria announced in the silence of the tavern. "If it isn't the woman who's tried to assassinate me multiple times." Aria opened her arms, a mock invitation. "What do I owe the pleasure?"
The Cerberus operative was now directly in front of Aria, scarcely a foot away. "Just thought I'd come to have a chat with an old friend."
The monarch snorted in disbelief and placed her hands on her hips. "There are so many things wrong with that statement that I might cry."
"Oh my god, just fuck already," Bray shouted from somewhere.
Aria smiled mischievously. "Should we take him up on that suggestion?"
Miranda quickly turned away, as though she was hiding her red face.
"Be truthful, Miranda," Aria said quietly. "You are not here so that we can enjoy a jolly good time and a pint of ale. What are you doing back in Varris?"
The assassin didn't say anything, only gestured for Aria to follow her up the stairs to the balcony. The dark-haired woman opened the oaken door and showed herself inside. She sat down exactly where Aria would sit, forcing the queen to either take another spot or stand. Aria simply stood in front of her. The queen could see signs of distress on Miranda's face—dark circles under her eyes, exceptionally pale skin, and hollow cheeks. It looked like she hadn't eaten a decent meal in days, nor had a good night's rest.
"Something's happened," Aria stated plainly.
Miranda nodded.
"And once again, you've come to me for help. I'm flattered."
Miranda rubbed her eyes and let out a long breath. "I defected from Cerberus."
The queen's eyes widened momentarily. "I abandoned Cerberus a few weeks ago and have been on the run ever since. I know that your city is probably the safest place for me, oddly enough. You're welcome to throw me out, but do know that I have nowhere else to go."
Aria flicked some hair out of her eyes before she asked, "What would make you believe that it's safe in Varris?"
"Look at how you just took care of that Cerberus officer," Miranda replied, waving her hand at the door. "You don't take shit from anyone."
"That is true," Aria muttered. "Fine, you can stay. But you're going to have to follow the rules I lay out, especially now that you're squarely on Cerberus's shit list. You walk where I tell you to walk, you eat where I tell you to, and you only talk to those I know. Am I clear?"
Miranda's jaw tightened as she knew that she considered her nonexistent options. "Crystal clear," she said through a tight mouth.
"Loosen up those lovely lips, Ms. Lawson," Aria said, a smirk growing on her features. "It's not like you'll be a prisoner kept in a dungeon. I'm not that cruel." Suddenly, a memory flashed through the queen's mind and the smirk became full blown. "Unless, of course, you'd like me to use those tables I caught you eyeing a few months back."
"My god, you never quit, do you?" Miranda demanded, exasperated.
Aria, confident and not caring one bit about minding the ex-Cerberus officer's personal space, leaned forward and left scarce centimeters between her face and Miranda's. "Not until I have you in my bed, screaming my name."
"Aria," Bray announced, entering the queen's "command center." He was wrapped up in an azure robe with light gold trimming and black trousers. "I swear to whatever god you believe in, if you don't stop making sexual comments, I'm going to lock you two in your room for a week."
"Good. That means that I could have this perfect woman." Aria leaned back again, lazily letting her eyes travel over the other woman's shapely figure. "All to myself." She added the last bit almost as an afterthought.
"Can we focus on the pressing matter of me being on the run from Cerberus?" Miranda asked, apparently to no one. Her voice, however, was hoarser and the color of her eyes had darkened significantly.
Aria raked a hand through her thick hair. "Yes, I suppose that would be important. You can go upstairs to the apartment and wait there if you so desire my aid. I need to talk to Bray about my obvious lack of security." She turned fully toward her head of security, a sign of dismissing Miranda.
Lazily wandering up the four flights of stairs that led to her apartment, Aria let her hand trail along the cold handrails. It was rather infuriating how the guards let some military general simply waltz into what was supposed to be the most secure building in Varris. After Miranda had left, Grizz had come inside from some unknown location. The general had claimed that he was part of the King's army, the Alliance, and that he'd been ordered to have peace talks with the pirate queen. It was absolutely ridiculous that no one noticed the blatant symbol of Cerberus on the man's uniform. After vehemently demanding why no one did notice the symbol, Aria decided to punish them by banning them from leaving the Inferno for a week. Essentially, she had grounded two grown men, yet they behaved like spoiled children when Aria had delivered the sentence.
The queen's thoughts then trailed off to the beautiful woman waiting, Aria assumed, in her apartment, likely on the main room's couch. What on earth would Aria do with Miranda Lawson? What could she do with an ex-assassin? The more she thought about the brunette, the more she found her thoughts getting distracted by other aspects of Ms. Lawson. Such diversions being the way Miranda seemed to see directly into the pirate queen, the way she walked, and that enticing accent of hers. Aria got the distinct feeling that it was only a matter of time, and a short time at that, before the monarch was able to get Miranda Lawson into her bed.
Now standing in front of the large doors that led into her home, Aria reached for golden knob. Twisting it, she opened the door and stepped inside to see Miranda staring out one of the windows that opened up to the plaza below. The assassin had placed her bag on the couch in the center of the open room. The queen shut the door and soundlessly strode up behind the preoccupied woman. She was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from Miranda's motionless figure.
"Enjoying the view?" asked Aria, her voice quieter than usual.
"I should be asking you the same," Miranda replied. Aria was surprised when the woman in front of her didn't even jump when she suddenly asked the question.
Aria smirked at Miranda's comment. "To answer your question, I always enjoy it."
"Who wouldn't?" The question was directed to no one.
A moment of silence passed between the two before Aria spoke up again.
"I notice that you haven't moved away from me. If I didn't know better, I would say that you feel like you need the closeness of someone, almost as if you need their protection."
Miranda was silent for what seemed like a very long time before she muttered, "I just need something, anything, to make me forget about what's going on."
Aria ran a long finger along her lip thoughtfully. "Anything, you say?"
Hands balled up the fabric of Aria's still bloodstained shirt as her lips met Miranda's silky smooth ones. Immediately, a wave of heat shot through Aria's body at the sensation. It wasn't often that she became thrilled about something, especially having sex with someone. Just a scant two other people in her long life had given her such a rush. The queen let her hands cup Miranda's face, her fingers reaching back into the other woman's satin hair. Miranda tightened her grip on Aria's expensive shirt, hearing the fabric tear slightly. The assassin felt the other woman's tongue glide over her bottom lip and she instinctively let the kiss deepen. It was clear that Aria sought to be in control of the situation, yet Miranda, being the dominant woman that she was, refused to submit to Aria's talented tongue.
Without breaking the kiss, Aria wrapped her hands under Miranda's knees and pulled the woman's legs up, situating them on her own hips. The monarch effectively carried the ex-Cerberus operative into the bedroom, using her biotics to open the door. She placed Miranda on the plush comforters of the bed and proceeded to literally tear apart the woman's tightly fitted suit. The thin fabric landed in pieces around the four poster bed.
"Oops," Aria murmured against Miranda's lips.
In what seemed like retaliation, Aria felt her own clothing being ripped off, undergarments and all, and being tossed out of the way. The cool air caused goose-bumps to rise on her skin, yet it did nothing to cool the blazing passion burning inside her or between her legs. Aria quickly removed the remaining clothes from Miranda's perfectly shaped body. Straddling the other woman, Aria let her hands trail over the naked form under her. She was quite pleased that she didn't have to use her imagination any longer; she allowed her hands to follow the lazy path that her eyes made. Her hands lingered over Miranda's supple breasts before sliding down onto her toned stomach.
Not taking her eyes off of Miranda's blue topaz irises, Aria lowered her head and placed her lips around one of the assassin's already hardened nipples. She smirked as she heard the woman beneath her release a short gasp of air. Miranda arched her back, putting more of her skin into Aria's mouth. Aria felt the other woman's hands knot in her hair and she bit down as Miranda's fingernails connected with the five scars that ran along the monarch's scalp. The owner of the offending hands took the hint and moved her palms to Aria's back, where her nails dug in when an intense feeling of pleasure shot through her lower abdomen. Aria moved one of her hands down to Miranda's core and began lightly teasing the small bunch of nerves. The toned form beneath the monarch began to squirm, not away from Aria's hand but closer to the talented fingers.
Typically, Miranda wouldn't let herself be controlled so utterly, but she was stressed out and had learned some time ago that sex was a very effective way to relieve said stress. As she felt her body react to Aria's actions, the assassin simply let herself feel, rather than have her mind be clouded by—
"You're obviously distracted, Miss Lawson," Aria whispered in Miranda's ear. "Is there a specific reason for that?" The hot breath and husky voice sent shivers down Miranda's spine. The queen, whose hand was still positioned directly on Miranda's core, looked down at the ex-Cerberus operative with midnight blue eyes that were so full of lust, Miranda's breath got caught in her throat. Aria's hand made a certain motion that caused Miranda to let out a low moan. Aria gave her signature smirk as she watched the other woman's facial expression change from one of distance to one of barely concealed passion. Miranda could tell that she was trying to control her rapidly escalating emotions, a habit learned over the years so she could remain in control of the situation. However, Aria noticed this and immediately sought to bring that attempt to a crashing halt by swiftly maneuvering herself so that Miranda's legs rested on her shoulders and her lips and tongue were scarce millimeters away from the trembling woman's wetness. It was when Aria's skillful tongue delved into Miranda that she had abandoned all thoughts and hopes to even believe that she would be dominating the pirate queen of Varris in one of the many fields that Aria T'Loak had most definitely mastered.
Within minutes, Aria sent Miranda spiraling out of control, clutching at the rich sheets of the bed and screaming Aria's name like it was a lifeline. The exhausted form of Miranda Lawson collapsed on the plush mattress, her prone body covered in a sheen of sweat.
"Please don't tell me that's all your body can handle," Aria said with what sounded like a pout. "Because I plan to keep this up until the sun rises again."
Miranda's groan of displeasure quickly morphed into quite the opposite.