Aria watched silently, resting her head on her palm as Noah started to cook. He had folded his sleeves until his elbows, his veins on his arms bulging while he continued cutting the vegetables. Once in a while, he would look up and smile at Aria.
Aria sighed lightly admiring the man before her. 'Who said a man did not look appealing when he cooked? If he looked this sexy and delectable, I would want him to cook for me daily. Ahh, I could stare at him all day.' Aria thought to herself, smiling like a lovestruck fool. She licked her lips and continued to stare at him.
Although Noah had taken up the duty of preparing a scrumptious feast for his beloved, he could not help but get distracted from seeing her strong gaze on him. He dropped his knife and turned to face her, making her raise her eyebrows in wonder. "Aria, please stop distracting me. Be a good girl and sit in the living room."
"What am I doing? I am just sitting here and observing you prepare dinner. How am I being a distraction?" Aria questioned him innocently, although her eyes spoke something else altogether. They were glinting in mischief and Noah could not help but groan in despair.
"Aria, darling, your mere presence here is making me lose control. Please be a good girl and stay with Dad." He almost begged, his voice turning soft at the end.
"No way. I am here to admire my boyfriend while he is cooking. You cannot forbid me from doing so. It is my birthright." She argued and folded her hands. "I am not leaving from here."
"Aria, please. If you don't leave the kitchen, I am not sure if there will be any food for us to eat at dinner."
"I trust you, Noah. I know you can bear with it and prepare an amazing dinner. However, if you can't, it's okay." Noah raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. "You can eat me and I'll eat you." Aria winked at him and Noah's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Is that so?" He took slow, careful steps towards her. Seeing him approach stealthily, Aria stood up and retreated back, her smile not leaving her face.
"What do you think?" She questioned back, putting on a courageous front, although she knew she would regret it the moment the man caught her.
"I am more than willing to eat you and you eating me. But this is not a suitable place to do so. Come, let's go to bed and we can eat each other all day." Without waiting for her reply, he held her by her waist and pulled her with him gently. Aria could only gape at him in horror and tried to free herself from his grasp.
"Noah, what are you doing?" She squealed when she felt his fingers run across her abdomen.
"What am I doing, Aria. I am just satisfying your wishes. Weren't you the one who made the suggestion?" He questioned her innocently, stopping right at the kitchen entrance.
Aria nodded her head, at first, which later changed to a shake. "I mean, no. I did not mean that."
"Oh!! Then, what did you mean? Do you mind telling me? You see, my brain is a little messed up and uncooperative today. I would like it if you could speak about it rather than asking me to deduce everything myself." His words were like a thunderbolt to Aria and she did not know whether to laugh or cry. It was all her fault that she provoked Noah and now, she had to deal with it.
"But..but..." She struggled to come up with some excuse. "I am hungry." Noticing that Noah was about to talk dirty again, she added, "For food." That shut him and he moved back.
"Aria," He spoke softly and pushed her hair back. "If you want food, then behave." His voice turned serious all of a sudden. "Go out of the kitchen. If you continue to stay here, I am not sure what I will do to you." Seeing her bewildered gaze, he continued, "But I can guarantee that you and I, both will like, in fact, love, whatever that might transpire here. Do you wish to take the risk?" He challenged her with a confident smile, which Aria so badly wanted to wipe off his face.
Not wanting to provoke the hungry wolf any further, Aria sprinted out of the kitchen, allowing him to carry on with the cooking. Noah could only laugh at her cute and flustered and resumed his work, after shaking his head.
Oliver was still working in the living room when he noticed a mystified Aria scurrying away like a scared bunny. He could guess what might have transpired in the kitchen, her flushed face, and her anxious eyes were enough proof for him to make a conclusion. Oliver wanted to pull his younger daughter's leg, for he had missed teasing her. However, he knew doing so would only bring her more embarrassment. So, he stayed mum even though his eyes followed her.
Aria, in her hurry, had completely missed Oliver and his look of amusement. She was more worried about reaching her room rather than facing her father. With swift steps, she reached her room and shut the door behind her. Panting loudly, she patted her heart, calming it down. Her heart had gone crazy the moment Noah had teased her by seducing her and till now, it was beating erratically.
A few minutes passed and her heart finally returned to normal. She took a deep breath before her eyes fell on the bed that welcomed her openly. Her imagination ran wild and she at once, envisaged herself and Noah engaging in sexual activities on the bed. Her calm heart started to misbehave again and her face turned red.
"What the heck are you thinking, Aria?" She reprimanded herself. Shaking her head vigorously, she tried to remove the perverted thoughts out of her mind. To distract herself, she sat far away from the bed, on the couch near the balcony, and opened the mail Maggie had sent her.
'Read the mail within 24 hours. Will delete it automatically once time lapses.' Maggie had put a note at the beginning, warning her. Aria took a deep breath and opened the file, and what she saw first, made her eyes widen in shock. "Damn you, bastard."