Page 71 of Noble Charms

Aria sat up in Noble's bed, heart thundering, and he gathered the blankets to more thoroughly hide his naked body. His naked, kiss-bruised, very-thoroughly-fucked body. There was no denying what happened. They hadn’t even closed Noble’s door.

Because Aria hadn’t intended to fuck him. He really hadn’t.

Noble's chuckle, at his side, made Aria's stomach cartwheel. “Sorry, Morg. You can head downstairs. I'll be down in a bit.”

“Shit,” Aria said, wiping his face. His voice cracked—still hoarse.

“It's alright,” said Noble. “Morgan's most certainly seen worse.” He sat up, his deep, dark eyes twinkling and his wide, white smile peaceful. “Sorry. You probably only got an hour of sleep, huh?”

Aria sniffed and croaked out, “Not your fault.”

“Well, it mostly is,” said Noble, leaning over and tucking a stray strand of Aria's hair behind his ear.

He seemed utterly at ease—and why wouldn't he be? It wasn't as if he'd done anything wrong. But Aria? Aria had kissed Hampenstead goodbye on Noble's stoop, and then marched upstairs and fucked another man. His fake-patron. What had they done?

He'd soon be sick as he crawled to the edge of Noble's enormous mattress, to climb down, and into a shower. His legs were shaking as he tried to find his discarded clothing on Noble's floor.

Noble came up behind him. When Aria stood up to pull the dress back over himself, Noble stopped him short, and pulled him into a hug. “Are you going to bathe?” Aria could only nod. “Me too. Come with me. My bath is big enough for us both.”

Aria's shaking grew more pronounced, and he squirmed out of Noble's touch.

Noble wore his confusion plainly. “You don't want to?”

Aria's wants had ruined him. What he wanted had led him to betrayal, time and time again. Betrayal by someone he loved, betrayal to himself. Even this—Noble had fucked him, and clearly enjoyed it, but this wasn't what Noble wanted. He said it himself: he wanted a wife. Aria could never be that.

He’d ruined his relationship with Noble. Turned their home into a mirror of what he had with Ellor.

“Sweetheart,” Noble said, closing a hand upon Aria's chin, tilting his head. Their eyes met. “What's wrong?”

Aria was like glass with a fissure running through, and if he didn't repair the damage now, he'd snap in two. “Please don't call me that.”

Noble blinked. “Call you…?”

“Sweetheart.” Aria loved the sound of it, the way it rolled off Noble's tongue like spellwork. That name alone could have shattered him to pieces. “Please don't.”

Noble's hand on Aria's face tightened, gently. “Tell me what you're thinking, Aria.”

Aria couldn't look away as he spoke, words cracking from his battered throat. “What have we done?” When Noble raised an eyebrow, he said, “I've been going with Lord Hampenstead. I was with him last night. I kissed him not a half hour before you—” Aria winced, shuddering at the memory, and backed away from Noble's hands.

“Stop going with him,” Noble said.

Aria placed a hand on his temple, headache beginning to pulse behind his eyes. “That's up to him. I'll have to tell him. I must tell him the truth. About everything. About how I’m not your adame. What we did—it wasn’t work. I was not your adame when we did this.”

“Listen,” Noble grabbed Aria's hand, and squeezed it. “You did nothing wrong, Aria. We can make it right. Everyone already believes you’re my adame. We may as well go ahead and do it. Make it official. And see? If you stay, as my adame, you’ll be absolved of any wrongdoing, no?”

A slow, mounting horror grew inside Aria's gut. “Excuse me…?”

“You can be mine completely. I've everything you need anyway.” Noble stroked his thumb over Aria's knuckles. “I don't know much about sex with men, but—you could teach me more than what I did last night, even. I could become proficient under your tutelage.”

Aria couldn't believe the words coming from Noble Yves. He was shocked. He could do nothing more than gape at Noble's nervous smile.

“Don't continue your courtship with Lord Hampenstead. You can—” Noble fumbled over himself for a second. “You can be my adame, to spare you from any embarrassment. Obviously I’d support you doing music when you wanted, but you wouldn’t need to worry about money, or any other nobles, or…"

Aria thought the moment he cast Suggestion on Ellor had been the lowest point he'd ever reach in his life. But that paled in comparison to the man he thought was his best friend offering to pay him as a full-time, live-in whore. “Is that what you want from me? To be your adame?” Aria said, the words shaking as they escaped his lips.

Noble's expressive eyebrows pulled tight over his stare. “Why not?"

Aria snatched his hand out of Noble's grasp. “I can't believe you. You’re the same as them all, aren’t you?” The horror of it made him choke. The idea of Noble paying him for sex while he chased a wife—Aria coughed, stumbling towards his door. “For this?” He gestured, wildly, over Noble's half-tossed room. “You think you’re special enough that I’d eschew all my own plans? Elys above. You’re just as bad as Ellor.” Aria hiccupped, stomach turning. “No, you’re worse. Because you made me think we were friends. How long have you wanted me like this, then? The whole time? Since we met again?”