Perfect you

2017, June 5th The drive from the airport to the castle took Bart's breath away. True to its name, Sartis Est was exceptionally beautiful. He took in the hills, mountains, pebble roads, streams, old ruins and knew that coming had been the right choice. "Father, allow me to introduce Lord Bartholomew Arden," said Ethan as they entered the drawing room. The king and queen were just sitting down to tea. "I never met a straighter arrow. I'm sure by the end of his stay you'll wish he was your son instead of me," said Ethan, chipper as ever. Aria gave Bart a concerned look as she went to sit next to her mother, holding onto her shoulders as both women watched the situation unfold with bated breath. Undeterred, Bart stuck his hand out to the king and said, "Thank you for having me, Your Majesty." The king looked at Bart's hand, sizing him up from every angle as he walked circles around Bart, staring him down. "Are you truly the son of a nobleman? You should know better than to offer a king your hand. Show some respect!" King Victor boomed sternly. Bart shrugged. "Born and bred to be a crown prince, I'm afraid the etiquette of bowing was never one I was raised to adopt. I have offered many kings a good old fashioned handshake though and it usually goes okay." Duke Arden had been taking Bart with him to meet with kings and world leaders alike for the last five years. King Victor was not the first king to protest against his lack of decorum. It didn't bother Bart anymore. They eventually got over it. But because this king was Ethan's father, Bart added, "Forgive me for having offended you, Your Majesty, but Ardens bow to no one." Bart didn't flinch as he gave King Victor this frank response, even as the king's eyes continued to bore into his. The room went silent as Bart withdrew his hand. "You bowed your head to me," Aria argued with shining eyes. Only she would say that in the face of danger like it was nothing. Bart's gaze shifted to her. "No, I bent my head briefly to kiss a beautiful woman's hand. It's hardly the same thing," Bart argued back. Only he could flirt with a woman in front of her angry father and somehow make it seem noble. The family exchanged mysterious glances as Bart went back to folding his arms. He took a seat like absolutely nothing had happened, the deadpan poker face perfectly in place. "Alright, that's time!" Ethan exclaimed with a grin, sticking out his palm. "Cough it up! Five bucks each!" Bart looked around the room as everyone burst into laughter and the atmosphere turned merry. King Victor and Ethan dropped on either side of Bart. Ethan grinned at his father. "I told you he wouldn't budge. Now give it!" Ethan insisted, sticking his hand out under King Victor's nose. "Alright, alright," King Victor conceded, slapping the fiver into Ethan's hand as he put an arm around Bart's shoulders. "Where did you get this kid? He's got nerves of steel!" "Wait until you see him do literally anything else," said Ethan. He jumped up and dropped next to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. Queen Elaine smiled warmly at Bart, apologizing for her family as she handed her son a note. Bart allowed himself a smile of his own while he watched Ethan chase Aria around the room as she held out the note for him to claim. Soon Bart found his attention soley taken up by Aria. Listening to the sound of her musical child-like laugh, watching her ponytail swish back and forth as she tried to outrun Ethan. Aria must have felt Bart's eyes on her because she looked at him and it was her undoing. Ethan soon caught up with her. She was so busy watching Bart watch her that she didn't even feel the money slip out of her hand. Yes, coming had definitely been the right choice. "So how about it? Want to be a prince after all?" King Victor asked, squeezing Bart's shoulder as he looked between him and his daughter. Bart was spared the pain of having to answer this very uncomfortable question by the appearance of a woman. "Welcome home," she said cautiously. The uneasy atmosphere returned to the room, this time without a hint of pretense. Ethan went to her and kissed her forehead, pasting a smile on his face. She tried to smile back, but it was a strained exchange. "This is Princess Diane, Ethan's fiancee,"said Queen Elaine. The queen's voice was as kind as when she'd apologized for her family's silliness, but it was troubled too. The king and queen were both somewhat uneasy, watching Aria's temper flare up. Before Bart or Diane could acknowledge each other, Aria snapped. "Why is she still here?" Bart had never heard Aria sound angry before. The hurt behind the anger however, was familiar. "Aria, don't start," King Victor warned witb a sigh. Aria brushed past the engaged couple and stomped right out the room. "Ria!" Ethan called after her. Diane looked at Ethan guiltily and pulled away. She curtsied to everyone in the room and tried to smile again. Ethan put a hand on her back and gave Bart an uneasy look. "She's just having a bit of a hard time with the idea of me getting married, that's all," Ethan explained. There was obviously more to the story. The woman next to Ethan looked uncomfortable, like she didn't want to be here any more than Aria wanted her here. Was it an arranged marriage? But that didn't explain Aria's lashing out like that at the sight of her. "I'll go and get her," Bart offered, watching Aria's retreating back. "Sure. Thanks Barry," Ethan said with a defeated nod, leading Diane towards his parents. After excusing himself, Bart took off after Aria without much thought about where she might be leading him. When Bart finally caught up with Aria, he found himself in front of an indoor pool. She was floating in the middle of it, in nothing but the shirt she had been wearing and a pair of panties. His eyes fell first on the little puddle that was her shorts, shoes and bra at his feet and then onto her hardened nipples imprinting on the shirt. "Shit, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, immediately looking away. Aria smirked despite her concerns. Ethan was too trusting and her father couldn't see past this damn treaty. It made her blood boil. But there Bart stood, ever the gentleman. Somehow that fact made her feel better. She couldn't take her eyes off of his embarrassed face, now covered by his big hands. Cute was probably the wrong word for Bart, but she could think of no other word to describe him just then. She let her feet hit the surface of the pool. "You can look now," she said. He pulled his hands away from his face cautiously. Her playful eyes and curled up lips came into view. "You really have to stop apologizing for things that are out of your control," she teased. The water covered every inch of her except her head and yet he still felt like he was doing something wrong as he looked at her. "Want to talk about it?" he asked, his question followed by a gulp as he tried to figure out where to look. "Want to come in?" she countered, her flirtatious eyes daring him to refuse. "I could always come out if you prefer." Saw that coming. Bart's brain flashed back to the state he'd found her in and he turned his back on her. "Are you going to tell me about Diane if I do?" A light giggle fell from Aria's lips. She couldn't see the man who kept turning away from her coming in after her unless he intended to do it fully clothed. "Okay, but you have to strip down to your undies. No tricks," she said, calling his bluff. His jacket hit the floor and it was her turn to gulp. He undid one button and then another until his shirt was on the floor too. Aria inhaled sharply. She knew he was completely ripped under his tailored suits, but damn if seeing it wasn't something else. Aria was not a stranger to shirtless men. She had sparred with her fair share of them. Bart didn't sparr without a shirt though, so this was all new to her. When Bart stood before her in nothing but briefs, she found herself unconsciously taking a step back. He hadn't moved yet. He just looked at her with that arrogant, stern gaze. Aria found she was suddenly extremely hot. Wasn't the water ice cold a moment ago? Bart dove into the pool head first and swam a lap before popping his head back up in front of her. She watched his perfect form as he glided through the water. "That's just not fair," she muttered, watching the water he'd brought up with him pour down his burly body. He grinned at her stunned face, enjoyed the fact that he'd finally one upped her. "So? A deal's a deal." She smiled back at him, reaching out to touch his chest. Aria wasn't thinking about Ethan or Diane or their messed up situation. All she wanted was to be wrapped around him. "You should probably talk to him about it yourself." Bart had been getting looks like that for years. He didn't know it of course, because he didn't usually get close enough to women to see it. He'd certainly never stripped down to his underwear for one. The more her hands explored his torso, the less he wanted to talk about Ethan and Diane. Aria had tied her hair up into a bun, presumably for the swim. Having last seen her hair down at his birthday ball, it suddenly seemed very important to him that she had it down and not up. His hand went to her hair and he undid the bun, pulling the scrunchie onto his wrist as he brought her hair down. "You should wear it down more," he whispered. She looked up at him and found his deep blue eyes staring down into her amber eyes. Unguarded tenderness greeted her. Okay fine, so maybe he was the one making her all hot and bothered. So, so hot and so damn close. "It looks better down," he added, running his fingers through her knotted hair carefully so as not to hurt her. What was she thinking inviting him in? She was a total fake, a complete flirt and nothing more. Aria didn't do stuff like this. Why hadn't she been as on edge as he was when he got here? She might have been laughing then, but she certainly wasn't now. "Diane doesn't love Ethan, certainly not like he loves her," she caved. Aria wasn't sure why she was telling Bart their personal family drama, but it seemed to distract him enough that he didn't mind her arms going around his neck. "Then why—" "Remember the prince from the ball? The one who was dancing with your girlfriend?" Having CC brought up stung. Suddenly Bart realized that he hadn't thought about CC since his arrival. It had been a whole day. Bart's thoughts had been all Aria and Ethan until now. And while the idea hurt, Bart knew that he would be thinking of CC even less in the future. Seeing Bart frown, Aria pulled away. This Bart was surprised to find, stung too. "Looks like you do. Well Princess Diane is his older sister. Ethan and Diane's engagement, it's purely political. A way to unite nations or whatever," Aria said with an eye roll, splashing at the water in frustration. "I see," Bart answered, waiting for her to carry on. "I just don't want Ethan to be unhappy. There are rumors about Diane having a thing with someone from her home country. That's probably why she freaks out every time Ethan goes near her. Stupid idiot fell for her the moment he laid eyes on her." Bart was smiling at her again, resulting in her directly her frustrated splashes at him. "I'd put those pearly whites away if I was you." "Was I smiling?" Bart chuckled, mesmerized by her pouting lips. "Yes, you've been doing that a lot lately," she answered, laughing too, splashing him again. Bart needed to stop smiling at Aria so much, it was unfair. His body, his laugh. The way he'd already won over her entire family. Just a few seconds ago he was depressed again about the princess from Caines. His princess. Aria's heart couldn't take the back and forth. He made getting hurt look so good though. Taking action for the first time since he'd come to stand before her, Bart slipped hos arms around her waist and lifted her up. She gasped as her legs naturally wrapped around his waist, her hands cupping his neck as her thighs tightened around his hard core. He'd made the move, but now his eyes seemed to be wavering. "It's just cute how worried you are about your brother," Bart said, his gaze dropping to her lips. "But he's a grown ass man. He can take care of himself." As their lips neared each other's, she let out a sigh. He wasn't going to kiss her. This just wasn't their moment. "Guess I'm being a hypocrite. I'm always in the boat he's in with Diane, even now." "Ria—" When he started pulling away, she tightened her hold on him. "Get me out of here, won't you handsome?" Bart pressed his forehead against Aria's. She was beautiful, fun, smart and packed a mean punch. Bart had never smiled or laughed so much in his life. Why couldn't it just be enough that he wanted to kiss her? Why did he have to go thinking about bloody consequences? She saw the internal conflict on his face and kissed his cheek. "Just walk Barry." As Aria clung to Bart, he laid his hands on her back, holding her in place as he crossed the pool. His feet and mind were at war, debating whether to get to the end quickly or drag it out. She laid her head down on his chest like she had the first time. His arms tightened around her as he endeavored not to say anything and just do what she asked.