“How?” It came out as a little squeal.
“I sent your abstract to the Economics Journal.”
“The Economics Journal?” She was practically shouting.
“Yep, it’s published at my alma mater.”
“Of course!” she exclaimed, realizing where I had gone to school. “But, but, would they just like-“
“Not usually,” I said slowly. “But they review anything that comes from me directly and they were blown away by your ideas. And when I say blown away, those were the words used by the editor in his email, which I have forwarded to-”
I cut myself short because she lunged on to me and gave me a very tight hug. I could hear her sniff as she grabbed my body with her tiny little hands. I tried to control myself, but just feeling her smooth skin against my hands, her perfectly perky breasts against my torso, and her soft skirt rub against my crotch was enough to make me forget what the conversation was about, what was happening right now, or even what day of the week it was. All I knew was I wanted to rip her dress up right there and shove my hands into her panties, shove my fingers deep inside her as I kissed her breasts until they were sore. Then I would throw her on the couch and fuck her like she had no idea was possible, deep and fast and I would come inside her sweet-
She jerked apart from me, probably able to feel my excitement through her skirt.
“Okay, that’s all for hugs, I guess,” she said, her voice almost shivering. Wow, was she…
I studied her face; it had turned a very deep shade of red. Her right arm was tugging nervously at the hem of her skirt and she was looking squarely on to the ground. She wanted it too! If there was anything I knew about women, it was the look of desire on their faces, and right now, Aria’s face was nothing if not complete and utter longing. Should I say something? Was now my only chance?
If a simple hug could cause her to react this way, wait until I kissed her; she would melt. I felt a slight disappointment at the thought of the game getting easier, but knowing Aria as much as I had gotten to know her, just because she wanted it didn’t mean she would just give it up. The odds that she had been wanting it all along were always very high; what made her stand out from all the other women was that she resisted, not that she didn’t feel. I knew she felt it, every woman did. Somehow she had managed to convince me through her tough exterior that she didn’t for a little while, I realized, feeling idiotic for ever entertaining doubts. This was definitely going to be much easier than I had been anticipating, but the fact that she just jerked away meant that it would still be a challenge. I simply had to teach her to succumb to her desires. I would show her the things she was capable of feeling and teach her to accept the greatest pleasures of life. I couldn’t wait. For now, however, I had to play it cool.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said, feigning a look of genuine remorse. “But it tends to do that. I can’t really control it.”
She tried speaking a few times but her lips were visibly trembling. She took a deep breath and tried to conceal it with a cough. Finally she said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Of course she didn’t, I internally rolled my eyes. She would have felt my rock hard cock if she were wearing a space suit.
“Oh, never mind then,” I played along. She knew. I knew. What was the fucking point of this?
“Thank you so much!” She exclaimed, trying to change her expression to that of delight.
For what? For my hard on? It took me almost an entire minute to realize what she was talking about. I had completely forgotten the conversation that led up to that moment.
“Oh, my pleasure entirely.” I gave her a crooked smile. It would be my pleasure soon enough. I could not wait much longer. More hugs like that and I would forget all about the contract and the challenge and seduce her right away. “And you don’t really have to thank me, it was your hard work and intelligence that got them to accept the paper. I was merely the middle-man.”
“A middle-man that pays to run that whole department,” she said with almost a hint of envy. “Let’s be honest, if the email had not come from you, they would never ever give an undergrad the time of the day and my abstract would go straight to their virtual bin.”
“Yes,” I had to say. There could be no confusion about the fact that this would have been impossible without my help. But I also thought it important to add, “But they could read it and turn it down with ease if they didn’t like what they saw.”
“Seriously, Zayden.” I liked the way she said my name. Zay-den. It sounded intoxicating. “Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me just yet. That was simply the abstract. You have a whole paper to write,” I reminded her. “We have a paper to write.”
I killed it with the “we.” I could see the joy in her face. “You’re a really good friend,” she said.
Friend? Did she think of me as someone she could call a friend? That was a weird sensation, hearing her call me a friend; and not necessarily in a bad way. Of course, I wanted to be more than that physically, but I wondered if it was worth keeping her around as a friend after I got what I wanted? I didn’t really have any friends aside from Ned, and if I was going to allow a girl in my life in any capacity, that word seemed to nicely describe it. Her intelligence was obvious, and maybe if we could remain friends, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to have her work for me. I knew I could gain a lot from her talents, and she could make more money than she would anywhere else. I definitely needed to consider this in more depth: it all depended on how she would react if – when – we eventually have sex. There was a good chance that she would hate me forever for taking her virginity and not wanting anything more. Would it, though? She seemed like a very rational and together girl. I wasn’t entirely sure she would want to get emotionally involved with me if she knew that the alternative would grant her the career of her dreams. Her ambitions almost reminded me of myself in my college years. In those days I would never have let anything stop me from my aspirations, and I suspected that Aria Roberts wasn’t the kind to either.
“If you really think so,” I said smiling at her. “Then do me a favor.”
“Anything!” she exclaimed immediately and hurriedly added, “Anything other than, you know.”
I laughed. “That wasn’t what I was going to ask. Have I asked that of you since our contract started?”
She looked like she was raking her brains for a moment and shook her head. “No, you haven’t.”
“Didn’t think so. What you could do for me is join me to a gala on Saturday I have to go to.”
She looked confused. “You didn’t have to ask me that, it’s part of our deal, I go with you to that kind of stuff.”