"If we're alone again, I won't be able to stop myself."

"You should practice self-control, then," she seethed. Aria was glad that the music was louder than their voices. At least nobody could hear their conversation. "Edward, please, I can't do this right now."

"So you're rejecting me, then?"

"I didn't say that!"

"You don't say anything, Aria!" Edward's baby blue eyes flared. "You're like a mannequin. You've lost your luster, and I don't know why."

"I've changed, Edward," Aria hissed. "I'm not a little girl anymore."

"Well, you're certainly acting like one," he retorted coldly. "I don't know what happened to you, but you weren't this...evasive from me when we were kids!"

"I grew up, which you clearly haven't done," Aria growled. "You didn't have to witness your parents dying right in front of you. That can do things to the mind, don't you know?"

"I didn't come here to be berated by you," Edward snarled. He pinned her against the wall and smashed his mouth onto hers, and when he pulled away he gripped her wrist with a certain tightness that Aria thought he was trying to drain her arm of blood. "Let's drop this and go dance."

"No. I thought you wanted my answer."

"I do, but clearly, I won't be getting it."

This is bad. Aria cursed herself. She had made so much progress and now all of that seemed to be going to waste with Edward's sour mood. She hadn't intended for their argument to have gone as far as it did, and she realized that there was only one thing that she could say to quell the argument, even if it made her stomach want to exit her body.

"You will, because I agree," she said, jerking her hand free of Edward's hold.

The young Lord paused. "You...agree? You mean, you will...?"

"Don't say it out loud," Aria warned, her cheeks burning with humiliation. She kept her steady gaze on his face, thinking of all the ways she could kill him to console herself. "But yes. This weekend at the Telvire Hotel. Don't try and fight it, I'm not going to change my mind."

Edward's nasty sneer cracked into an excited smile and he kissed Aria again, spinning her around in tune with the music. "Oh, I knew you would agree! I'll get us the best room, you'll see! I promise you'll have an amazing time!"

"I can't wait," Aria said through clenched teeth. She made a mental note to pound Sterling's head for being so late and to also inform him of their new development. Before she could go off to find her airhead partner, Edward dragged her onto the dancefloor.

"Let's dance," he said, taking her hands and bringing her into the sway of the music, giving her not a second to protest.

"Alright..." she agreed despite her better judgment, though she could feel the distant glare of Margot stabbing the back of her head. Those eyes would murder her if she were to deny an opportunity to progress the mission.

Edward had taken ballroom classes as a child with her, but it seemed like he had not paid much attention to their teacher. His footsteps were awkward and he had an unnecessarily tight grip on her waist that was borderline uncomfortable. The music did nothing to quell Aria's trepidation nor did it help soothe the white noise that pulsated in her head. Her mind was swarming with plans. Despicable plans - plans to kill her childhood friend - but it was a death that was necessary. Aria had too much at stake to allow herself to feel sorry for him, not that she did anyway.

The music ended with a flowy stop that left the guests briefly wondering if there was more to come for that particular song. Instead, the orchestra paused for a break, and the couples that danced on the floor separated to join the banquet behind them.

"They should be preparing for their next song," Edward said, craning his head over the crowd to catch a glimpse of the orchestra.

"They'll be finished soon. Give them some time to rest," Aria replied, and as she said this, a prickle crawled up her spine. Icicles were melting into her skin, cooling her warm flesh, and there was only one person that she knew whose eyes had the ability to make her anger evaporate.

"May I have the next dance?" Sterling appeared behind her, bowing with his hand outstretched. "My lady?"

Edward scowled. "And who might you be?" He snapped. "I have reason to believe that I've seen your face before..." his eyes drank in Sterling's dapper black suit, all the way down to his polished shoes.

"Whoever I am is of no concern to you. I am not a threat to your welfare. I merely wish to dance with a lovely lady." Sterling's glacial stare was impeccably calm. He flexed his fingers. "Well, my lady? Will you honor me?"

"Of course," Aria replied before Edward could intervene again. She offered him a reassuring smile and followed Sterling onto the dance floor again as the music picked up. Once they were surrounded by other people, Aria let her smile drop and glared at her partner.

"You're late," she hissed. "What the hell were you doing? Why'd you take so long? You left me alone with that bastard!"

Sterling was unfazed by her irritation. He laughed jovially and bent to give her an apologetic kiss, making sure they were hidden well in the crowd before doing so. His mouth was warm and sweet and when his tongue briefly touched her lips Aria tasted the distinct, sticky flavor of syrup.

"Is this going to be a common thing now," she whispered when the kiss ended. She licked her lips, lapping up the last particles of sticky sweetness. "Because if it is, you may put my acting skills at risk during this mission, my dear partner."

"I would like for it to be a common recurrence," Sterling said. He pressed his forehead against hers, swaying their bodies to the gentle, crooning voice of the singer that had taken the stage. "You look gorgeous, my lady. I sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting."

"Why, thank you." Aria beamed, a light blush staining her dark cheeks as the heat rose in the room. "Now, please be a dear and tell me why you arrived so late."

"I can't get past you, can I?" Sterling smirked. "I ran into Madame on my way. She was catching me up to speed about some projects at work."

"Are you doing side projects?"

"We're understaffed at the moment, so yes. Several employees have been out of reach." He lowered his head and whispered in her ear: "Some of them we haven't seen in days."

"Do we know why?"

"No. We haven't been able to contact them." Sterling cleared his throat. "Madame's got me burning the midnight oil every night. Between miscellaneous killings and working on this case, I'm beat."

"I understand, and I'm sorry for yelling at you," Aria said. "Have you gotten any clues about the case?"

"None so far. All I know is who was...detained." His eyelids narrowed, not of suspicion, but of fatigue that dwelled beneath his brow. "It's a pain doing red work and then coming home to more work, you know?"

"I miss doing redwork," Aria sighed. "It's more fun than this mission. I hate slow burns."

"Well, you seem to be doing a magnificent job. Lord Burning Britches over there is head over heels for you."

"Lord Burning Britches?" She snickered. "Just how much did Madame tell you?"

"Not much. She was in a rush. The food is super delicious, by the way! Compliments to your chef."

"I'll let him know." The music started to slow down. "Actually, I think you suggested him to us."

"I did?" Sterling lifted a curious brow, then his face darkened. "Oh, Gregory...yeah, I guess I did."

Aria frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm glad you like him." Sterling spun her around, catching her by the hip. "My... mother used to love his cooking. She and I would take lessons from him."

Oh. "That sounds...fun." She met him face-to-face and he dipped her into a low bow. The music came to a halt and clapping rose from the crowd. Both of them stood straight to bow, then, before Sterling could disappear into the crowd again and Aria would have to suffer through Edward's antics, she grabbed his sleeve and hissed:

"We've got a code red for the mission we need to deal with tomorrow."

"How serious is it?"

"You'll find out."

------------------

What's Aria going to tell Sterling? Is Edward taking this loyalty thing too far? What are your thoughts? 

VOTE/COMMENT/ENJOY :D