Archive of Our Own

"I'm challenging you to a food battle," Alice announced as she strode into his side of the kitchen.

Ryo glanced up from the recipe he was making notes on. The dish was good, but it wasn't quite where he wanted it to be and he had a few ideas of how to change things. "Kay," he said. He could use this opportunity to workshop some of his ideas.

"Excellent," Alice said, beaming.

"What are the stakes this time?" Ryo asked, standing up properly. He folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back against the metal counter. She usually only sprung a battle on him like this when she wanted something she was sure he wouldn't just give to her with a little nagging.

Alice tapped her mouth with a finger, pondering as she rested her forearms on the table across from him. Her smile turned sly before she looked up at him through her eyelashes. "If I win, I get to kiss you," she said.

Huh. That had come out of nowhere.

Well, not entirely out of nowhere, but Ryo had been trying not to think about it. He didn't often misread situations, but there was a first time for everything.

Or maybe not.

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "And if I win?"

"Well, what do you want?"

"If I win, I get to kiss you."

Alice was silent. She blinked at him several times in surprise, then opened her mouth to say something, and shut it again.

Ryo huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Jeeze, if I'd known that that was all it took to get you to shut up, I'd have done it years ago."

That seemed to shake Alice free of her stupor and she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts again. "Ryo, you can't just spring something like that on me!"

"So, Miss," Ryo continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I was thinking perhaps something with seafood." And then, it was his turn to grin wickedly.

He won, because of course he did. Alice had changed the theme, insisting that she'd wanted to try something new she'd seen in the notes that her mother had made from a conference held in Belgium. They both knew it was because Alice could never beat him on his home turf. Or home seas.

But still, the lava cake that Ryo cooked up was a flavour explosion that surpassed the delicate spun sugar nest she'd made to surround strawberry coulis and crystallised basil.

It was good but it certainly wasn't her best.

He made a mental note to experiment with balsamic vinegar in his lava cake later.

Alice was fuming, glaring at him and insisting that the judges—three helpless staff of the Nakiri mansion who had been dragged in (literally) by Alice—try a different combination of her dessert.

"Give it up, honey," Ryo grouched. "You lost, I won, fair and square. I'm the better cook and we both know it."

Alice turned on him, her cheeks going red as she started squawking at him. "You're so rude to me, Ryo! So rude! We're mostly tied, and I'm your mistress! The least you could do is show me some respect, because just in case you've forgotten, I had a steady lead on you for two years and—"

"Oh, can it. You had the lead and—"

"Don't you take that tone with me, mister!" Alice threw up her hands. "Ugh! Come apologise to me when you're in a better mood!"

"I wouldn't be in a bad mood if you would just accept that I won!"

"I'm not listening—la-la-la-la-la!" Alice shoved her fingers in her ears, looking away from him. "That doesn't sound like a respectful tone!"

"Argh!"

Alice stomped out of the kitchen, her fingers still shoved in her ears. She popped her head back into the door and said, "You better apologise soon, Ryo!"

"Or what?" Ryo shouted after her, but was answered only by the sound of her angrily walking away.

The staff had fled some time amidst his and Alice's shouting match, as usual. Cowards. These were a weekly occurrence between them. Ryo felt they deserved some credit though. They'd decreased from most days of the week down to once or twice a week.

Progress.

Neither of them were any better at losing though.

Ryo stormed around the kitchen, cleaning up his and Alice's more personal items. The staff would take care of most of the mess, but he and Alice both had items that were theirs and rarely were others permitted to touch them.

Still frustrated once that was done, he started cleaning up some. Neither of them were particularly messy cooks, but it… Actually, it didn't soothe him to tidy up.

He'd removed the bandana, tucking it into his back pocket so that it didn't get wet as he all but threw various implements in the sinks. The metal hitting metal was loud, and he muttered to himself about her being such a fucking sore loser.

It wasn't like he was any better at losing though.

Little priss just didn't want to pay up—

He stopped.

Oh. He'd forgotten about that.

He started scrubbing the mixing bowl again, albeit much slower and more distracted now.

Where on earth had all of that come from?

There had been… moments between them, more than a few over the years. Ones where their faces were too close, where their eyes had darted down to the others mouth.

Usually these moments came during similar shouting matches. But there were others. There'd been that time in the dead of winter a few months ago, when Alice had forced him into watching some Korean sitcom; Ryo had been acting as her life-sized hot water bottle. And there had been that time Ryo had been showing her how to throw a decent punch, lest she need to kick someone's ass during her Stagiaire and Ryo wasn't there to save her fiery dumb self. And then there'd been—

He cut those thoughts off.

Okay.

So this wasn't entirely out of nowhere.

He set the mixing bowl to the side. It was clean now but the staff would come in and complete the work he was going to leave partially done.

He wasn't going to apologise to her. He wasn't. (Okay, yes, he was going to apologise. He always ended up doing so anyway).

But he was also going to collect on this win.

"Oh good, you're here to apologise!" Alice said perkily when he entered her room. The door had been left open and he closed it gently behind him. She threw her phone on the bed and stood up, lacing her fingers behind her back as she all but pranced over to him. "I was getting bored waiting for you."

Ryo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Sorry, Miss."

"Much better! See, that wasn't so hard." She bounced onto her toes, beaming. "Now, I need your help with—"

"So, I won that battle," Ryo pointed out in his usual drawl.

Alice wrinkled her nose. "No need to rub it in. Sheesh! You're so rude."

"And I believe it was you who set the terms."

Alice gave a nervous laugh. Her cheeks had gone pink. Neither of them were very good at hiding when they blushed, their pale skin giving them away every time.

"Ryo—" she started.

"Uh-uh," Ryo tutted. "Pay up."

"You never make me pay up," Alice huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Her cheeks were flushed, her lower lip stuck out.

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to force you, you know." It was important to him that she knew that. Still, he took a step closer, watching her carefully.

"I know," Alice admitted quietly. She tilted her head back a touch so that she could see him properly. She was back to looking at him through her eyelashes; Ryo had always had a love-hate relationship with that look. It got to him in ways he never liked to think too hard about, but now, faced with it inches away… Maybe he was allowed to think about it, just for a second.

He took another step, further closing the distance between them. Alice didn't step back out of his space and when he brought a hand up to cup her cheek, she melted against it and let her eyes close.

They'd kissed before, many years ago.

At eleven, upon learning that he'd never had his first kiss, she'd decided that as his Mistress, she should get the honour. She'd kissed him quickly then, and leapt back giggling. Ryo had wiped his mouth, sticky with her lip gloss, and shouted about how she couldn't just do things like that.

She'd then yelled back that that was no way to thank her, and if he didn't show her some respect, she was going to—to—she wasn't sure, but he was going to regret it!

This kiss was nothing like that.

There wasn't any lip gloss this time.

He was taller than her now.

She was softer than she'd been then too, but that was another of those things he tried not to let himself think of except in the (albeit rare—Alice had a habit of barging in if he didn't make sure to lock the doors, and whined when he did) privacy of his bathroom.

Her mouth was soft too, and oh.

Oh no.

He eased away, letting his hand fall away as he stepped back. Alice's eyes were still closed, and when she finally opened them to look at him, she looked dazed.

And she was silent.

Alice Nakiri was never silent.

Ryo's heart was racing, pounding, like it had never done in any of his food wars. He took another step back and let a tiny smile cross his face.

"So that's really how I get you to shut up, eh?" he said, turning back towards the door. "Gonna have to keep that one in mind, I guess."

"Ryo! Oh my god, you're such a dick! You can't just—"

Ryo snorted and let her shouts fade into a familiar and comfortable white noise as he slipped out the door.

Ryo counted back from ten under his breath once he reached his room and…

Three… Two…

"How could you just walk out after a kiss like that?" Alice demanded, storming into his room.

Right on time.

"I'm challenging you to a food war again! Same stakes! Tomorrow morning!"

Ryo smirked. "You're on."

*

He won again.

Seeing Alice's cheeks puff up in anger, the housekeeper fled, so Ryo kissed her right there in the kitchen. The kiss was deeper this time, but kept the same steady slowness.

Her hand came up to hold his wrist, her fingers warm through the bandana, and when he moved to pull away she tried to keep him there.

Still, despite every part of him protesting, he withdrew. He loved the way she looked momentarily dazed as he pulled back, before she snapped back with a frown.

"Ryo, are you seriously—"

"I'm going to the gym," Ryo said as he strolled towards the door.

"Ugh, you're so annoying! Tomorrow!"

Ryo just raised two fingers and a thumb in casual acknowledgement. "Can't wait."

*

"You haven't won a single battle in nearly three weeks," Ryo pointed as he withdrew from their heated kiss. Alice's lips were red and swollen, and god, he wanted to kiss her again, press his tongue into her mouth, feel the sweet little sounds she made against him.

Instead, he kept just enough distance between them that Alice couldn't lean back in easily and take what she evidently wanted.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were losing on purpose," he said. He let his hand at her waist graze down her hip before falling away entirely.

Her look of open-mouthed outrage only made him chuckle as he moved back to the counter he'd been working at and began to clean his knives. Her huff of frustration and subsequent stomping from the kitchen was really the cherry on top.

Ryo wasn't sure what he was playing at, but if it were a competition, he knew he was winning.

*

As soon as Soma and Erina decided that Ryo had won, Alice left the kitchen in a huff. Ryo shrugged at them, as if he didn't know what was going on, and followed after. Soma made some comment that Ryo didn't hear, but Erina's shrill tone left him pretty confident it was something very Soma.

He followed Alice up the stairs, and although she disappeared into her room, she didn't slam the door shut. He was only a few seconds behind her and as soon as he was through the threshold, he caught Alice by the wrist.

She didn't resist as he pulled her into a borderline desperate kiss, her arms coming up around his shoulders as he drew her in. Her fingers snuck under the edge of his bandana as they twisted in his hair, holding him close.

Every time that they did this—it was coming up on a month now—it became harder and harder to pull away.

His idea of teasing her with just one kiss each time had felt like such a good idea at the time, but now… Now, in the privacy of his own mind, he was willing to admit it had been a terrible idea, particularly when Alice kissed him like that.

But he couldn't give in now. If he did, it would be another loss. Ryo was not one to ever admit defeat, apparently even when his dick was involved.

Still, they hadn't broken apart yet, so it was still okay to keep kissing her like this—

He pulled back with a sharp inhale as he heard Soma and Erina arguing as they came up the stairs. Shit. Alice's door was still open and…

The sounds of their voices faded as they took a left at the top of the stairs instead of the right towards Alice's room. He and Alice both released the breaths they'd been holding. Although they weren't touching now, her lips were swollen and her hair was tousled. He knew he looked similar, and it would have taken one look at them to know that something had been happening here.

Now though, the moment was gone and the kiss was broken. Ryo met Alice's steady gaze and heat seared through him. Two steps.

Two steps.

That would be all it took.

Two steps, and admitting defeat.

Hating every part of himself, Ryo put some more space between them and dragged his bandana from his head.

"If Milady has nothing else she'd like me to do, I'm going to the gym," he said. He hoped to hell that it would help burn off some of this energy.

Alice glared daggers at him.

That in itself was a win.

*

"I'm raising the stakes," Alice said. Her lips were pursed and there was a hardness to her eyes that Ryo didn't see often.

It shouldn't have turned him on, but here he was.

As children, it had always made his breath quicken to see her like this. Her cooking was precise, exacting, but her moods had always been chaotic. She threw fits and tantrums, and squawked at him at any given opportunity. There were rare moments of empathy and compassion, evidence that she did, in fact, have more than three brain cells firing at any one time.

When she was like this though, she was unstoppable. It had been one of the most enchanting things he'd ever seen back then, and still was.

Ten years on, it still made his heart beat a little faster, unable to look away as Alice bent the world to her whims.

Ryo kept his words nonchalant. "You can raise them as high as you like. It doesn't mean you're going to win. What're we at again? It's twenty-nine, zero, in my favour, right?"

"Don't get cocky," Alice snapped.

"Too late."

The corner of her mouth quirked up, betraying her amusement.

"Okay, what're the new stakes?"

Alice raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Ryo pondered this. His gut churned and he bit his tongue; he didn't break their eye contact.

"No."

"No?"

"No. I'm not doing that."

We're not doing it like that, was what he didn't say.

If they ever did that, it wasn't going to be because they were stakes in a stupid food war. Ryo didn't have a romantic bone in his body (although he wasn't so sure of that now), and he wasn't entirely certain that Alice did either, but it still wasn't what he wanted for either of them.

Alice pouted. "Fine."

Through the frustration that he'd lost, the smallest voice in Ryo's head admitted it was glad he hadn't agreed to the raised stakes.

Alice's grin was victorious and she was acting as if she'd won every food war they'd had for the past month. Despite Ryo having a significant lead, he still found himself gritting his teeth until they squeaked at the fact that he'd fucking lost.

"You don't have to be so fuckin' smug about it," Ryo snapped.

"Oh, my mistake. I took lessons from you on how to be a gracious winner," Alice said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Ryo flipped her off and stomped from the kitchen.

He wasn't really surprised that she waited to kiss him. What did surprise him was that she didn't leap on him as soon as they were both out of the kitchens.

And she didn't kiss him when they made it back to their rooms. Nor did she kiss him before she sat down at her desk to deal with some of her Elite Ten duties.

Instead, she instructed him to bring her a cup of tea and got to work as if she hadn't just won what she'd been so desperately trying to for over a month.

Ryo had given up trying to figure out his mistress' brain years ago, but he had to admit this was confusing the absolute fuck out of him. When nothing seemed to eventuate, he mentally shrugged and started on his own tasks. He went to the gym, came back, showered, refilled Alice's tea, brought her a snack, looked over some emails that Akira had sent him, ignored some emails that Akira had sent him, got himself a snack and then—

"Okay, what are you playing at?" Ryo shouted as he pushed into Alice's room.

"You really need to work on your manners," Alice said, glaring at him. "It's been thirteen years and you still talk like you've just walked off a dock."

"Yeah, yeah, what are you playing at?" he pushed on.

"What do you mean, dear Ryo?" Alice asked with a very fake look of innocence on her face.

"I lost. You won."

"Oh, I love hearing you say that!" she cooed, touching her cheek in delight. "Say it again!"

Ryo growled. "Well?"

"'Well', what?"

"Why haven't you kissed me?!"

"Oh! That's easy. I'm saving them up!" Alice said chirpily.

"Huh?"

"You really are as dumb as you look," she said. "You always stop after one kiss, and I think that's stupid. So I'm saving them up."

Ryo stared at her, all the bluster in him gone as quickly as if she'd removed his bandana mid-rant.

"Why, Ryo," Alice said, teasing expression on her face as she stood up from her desk. "Are you saying you want me to kiss you?" Her hips swayed as she took several slow steps towards him.

"I don't like owing you," Ryo said. Though, his hands came up to rest gently on her waist.

"Well, that's awfully unfortunate because I'm no mathematician, but I'm pretty sure you still owe me several hundred things."

Ryo hmm'd, unamused. No matter how many victories he'd had over the years, it had proven difficult to catch up when Alice had had a six-hundred-plus lead on him.

"It's seventy-nine, now," he pointed out, although there was no heat behind it.

Alice cocked her head a little as she brought her arms up to rest on his shoulders. "You could work on repaying some of those now, if you wanted. Wipe the ledger clean."

"If you did that, who would bring you your towel when you forget it every time you shower?"

"You could just do things because you're my aide," Alice said, a little wrinkle between her eyebrows as she frowned at him.

"You know, Miss," Ryo said, leaning in so that his mouth was close to her ear. Alice gave a tiny shiver. "You don't have to challenge me to a food war every time you want to kiss me. And you don't need to save them up either."

"I don't?" Alice asked.

"No," he said. "You only have to ask."

"Oh," she said, voice small. She pulled back enough to look at him. "Ryo, you should kiss me."

"That's not technically asking but—" his words were cut off by her pulling him down to her mouth. Her arms wound around his neck, bringing him closer still.

When she broke the kiss, she looked up at him, wordless but with a question in her eyes. Was he going to stop again…?

In answer, he pulled her back in.

He figured this wasn't losing.

And if it was… Maybe he was okay with losing, just this once.

They parted only long enough for him to lock the door and then Alice was on him again, pushing him down onto her bed. This time, his hands found her thighs, thumbs brushing the soft skin just below the hem of her skirt. Her fingers twisted in his hair, keeping him close as she tried to kiss the breath out of him. The way she held him and shifted was like she was trying to get as close as humanly possible to him, and god, Ryo was going to let her.

Now that he'd decided that yes, this was okay, it was as if his body had decided all bets were off. He didn't have to stop kissing her, he didn't have to drag himself away from her mouth for the sake of a month-long tease.

Ryo brought his hands up from her thighs to her waist and from there it was easy to shift back on the bed and then—

Alice let out a little 'oof' as he shifted them so she was beneath him.

"That was just as hot as I'd always thought it'd be," she said with a laugh before Ryo cut her off with another kiss.

Her legs came up to wrap around him and she clung to him, even as he broke away again to kiss down her neck.

"Gee, you're not even wearing your scarf and you're like this," Alice gasped.

"'M still an eighteen year old boy," Ryo mumbled, nipping her skin. "Is that a complaint?"

Alice's chuckle turned into a gasp and then a quiet moan as Ryo gently bit the skin below the collar of her blouse. "The opposite."

They fumbled to get her sweater vest off, tugging her blouse from the waistband of her skirt. Their hands got in each others way as she tried to unbutton his shirt as his slid under her shirt, up to cup her breasts through her bra.

Alice exhaled shakily in some semblance of a moan and pushed up into the touch. He teased the simple white lace down enough that he could run his thumb over a nipple, and she made another soft sound.

Ryo wanted more than softness though; he wanted her begging and struggling to keep her noises quiet enough that they didn't alert the entire mansion to their activities. Subtlety had never been Ryo's style and he wasn't about to start now.

He pulled his hand away only so that he could help her with the buttons of her blouse, shoving it open once they were free.

God, she looked debauched like this. Her skirt was loose on her waist and barely covered the tops of her thighs now. Her shirt was open, revealing the soft lace that contrasted beautifully with the flush that stretched from her cheeks, down her neck, to the top of her chest. She looked up at him, breathless. And then she smirked and yanked him back on top of her.

He was painfully hard and when she wrapped her legs around him again, drawing him right against her, he had to bite back a shudder. It was too good and if he didn't find some way of distracting her, he wasn't sure how long this would last.

Still kissing, they made short work of her skirt before Alice got impatient and shoved Ryo away so she could work on ridding him of his shirt, tie, and trousers.

He wasn't given time to admire her like this, before Alice was clambering onto his lap and kissing him breathless. They'd seen each other in swimwear before, but Ryo had tried very hard not to look (the same could not be said of Alice, who had often made eye contact before dragging her eyes up and down his torso).

He'd probably have time to look later. For now, he had his arms full of Alice, and she was grinding down against him, and Christ, he needed more, needed all of her, right then. When he gripped her tight again and pushed her back against the bed—how many times were they going to do this? Once again, it felt like a battle for who would come out on top (and it was a battle Ryo was definitely going to win)—she went as easily as she could given how she clung to him.

He drew away from her mouth, kissing down her neck again and this time he didn't have her blouse in the way. She helped him push her bra down enough that he could thumb at her nipples, taking one into his mouth. She whimpered, fumbled to unhook her bra at the back with one hand so he had better access. He took it, kneading the flesh gently, kissing here and there.

He would take his time later—really—but for now, he wanted…

He kissed down her body, hooking his fingers into the sides of her panties and dragging them off.

Alice's cheeks had somehow become redder, but her eyes were sparkling as she looked at him. She'd closed her legs and there was an uncharacteristic shyness in her expression. Still, as he ran his hands up her calves and behind her knees, she let him spread them.

He kissed up the inside of her thighs, starting at the knee, nipping the skin in a few places just to hear her gasp. She was still tense, and when he looked up at her again she was staring at him, eyes wide with excitement.

He brushed his thumb over her clit, just to feel her shiver. He didn't give her any more though, taking his time kissing the soft skin between her thighs, almost teasing in the way he kissed parts of her without giving her any direct stimulation.

Just as she opened her mouth, no doubt to snap at him to hurry up, he finally brought his mouth down to her. She shuddered as he softly took her clit into his mouth.

"Ryo," she breathed. One of her hands hovered awkwardly in the air above his head, as if she was unsure if she could—. On a whim, he grabbed it and brought it down to his head, silent permission. Her fingers ran through his hair a few times before twisting and gripping firmly. She pulled him closer, and he fought a smirk.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, but he'd seen porn, he'd read those magazines that Alice kept between the mattress and bed frame back home in Denmark. Sure, they were girly, but they had a lot of gorgeous girls in them, and weird advice about sex. Ryo hadn't really cared about the advice (a lie), had mostly been interested in the cute girls. But still, he'd approached reading the articles with the same vigour that he did his cooking.

Ryo Kurokiba was going to be the best, no matter what it was.

Alice's thighs were shaking—not worryingly so, but just enough that Ryo figured he was definitely doing the right thing. He went slowly, seeing what gave him the best reactions, what made her gasp and shiver and hold him closer by the hair.

She was salty, and Christ, even without him there, she was wet. She guided him with the hand in his hair, moving him the way she liked and god, this was going into Ryo's spank bank. He was so hard it hurt, but she felt so good like this, her thighs beginning to close around his head, her sounds getting sharper and higher, her fingers in his hair pulling so hard that it stung.

"Fingers?" Alice croaked, breathless.

Ryo didn't need to be asked twice, pushing two fingers inside. She stifled a cry with one hand and tightened around him. He curled his fingers, only half aware of what he was doing. His head was spinning with lust, making everything foggier. It was like he was being drawn purely by instinct, moving his fingers just so, relishing the way she cried out and shuddered and tried to pull him closer still, and—

She went silent, not even breathing, but her stomach clenched, and her cunt clenched around his fingers hard, and christ, she got so much wetter. She gasped in air frantically, releasing hard little moans that she desperately tried to stifle with the hand not holding his head hostage between her legs.

It was like she was fucking herself through her orgasm against his face and hands, like he was just there for her pleasure.

He didn't care at all, prepared to keep up the touches until she pushed him away.

She didn't.

Her fingers loosened in his hair but only barely, and she kept moving against him. It only took him a few seconds to realise she was going for another. Without thinking, he moaned against her, heady lust controlling every last thought he had.

She was silent when she came again, whimpering and gasping only in the aftershocks. He expected her to stop then, but she kept going.

He didn't know how many times she came before she finally pushed him away, shaking and shuddering. If he'd thought her lips were bitten red when they kissed, it was nothing compared to now.

Alice's fingers still in his hair, she dragged him up to kiss her. His face was wet and he almost stopped her, but nope, she didn't seem to care and pulled him into a frantic kiss.

He ground his cock against her, a tiny voice cursing that they hadn't had the forethought to remove his underwear. Still, even through the fabric, he could feel how hot she was, as if he hadn't just had his mouth against her for whoever-knew-how-long.

"Fuck me," Alice breathed into the kisses.

"Hasn't milady had enough?" Ryo teased, drawing away from her. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Alice glared at him, didn't answer him, and started to tug at his boxer-briefs. They got caught, and Ryo chuckled as he helped her shove them down. They joined the pile of clothing and underwear on the floor, but Ryo wasn't too concerned with where they landed.

Alice gasped as he came into direct contact with her, kissed him roughly.

"'M on the pill," she got out against his mouth.

Ryo knew this, had an alarm set in his phone to remind her to take it every day.

"Have you…?" she trailed off as she pulled away, nervousness pinching her expression. Like this, she looked vulnerable, and Ryo wasn't sure whether he loved it or hated it.

"No," he said quietly. Against his will, his mouth caught up with him. "Have you?"

She shook her head.

Ryo felt relieved, but couldn't explain why.

He told himself it was just because he was a terrible aide if she'd gone out and had sex, and he'd entirely missed it. He wasn't exactly the perfect aide—but he liked to think he knew that much. And he wasn't going to forget that Alice would likely have insisted he help her get ready at every step, should she have found a man worthy of her attention.

He could picture it now, having her parade around in lingerie that would be most appropriate for the deed, and could Ryo make sure she had condoms in a variety of sizes, and was this lipstick the right colour, was the dress the right amount of slutty and demure, she wasn't just going to give it away, you know?

But that had never happened.

Ryo knew a lot about his mistress, some might argue too much. He knew when she was hormonal, could tell when she was getting sick before she knew it. The algorithm on his phone was more suited to her needs than his own—if Instagram could stop showing him luxurious handmade European lingerie, he would be very grateful—and loathe he admit it, he actually liked keeping track of the chaos she got up to.

Hoping she couldn't see all of that in his face, he leaned down to kiss her again before sinking back onto his heels.

He grabbed his dick around the base, breathing slowly. The barest touch was enough to make his head spin. Still, he wouldn't be him if he let this opportunity pass him by.

Alice was there, looking up at him, her fingers grasping the sheets. She still looked oddly shy despite how she'd ridden his face through several orgasms barely minutes ago, and she seemed torn between closing her legs to shield herself from his hungry gaze or keeping them open, a challenge in her eyes that he fuck her with the same ferocity that he approached cooking with.

Ryo smirked and still gripping himself, he dragged himself back and forth over her, not quite pushing in just yet. It was half a tease, half just covering himself in her wetness. "Maybe you need to beat me in another food battle if you want this," he pondered, as if he wasn't so turned on that he could barely thread three words together.

Her expression snapped from one that tread the line between vulnerability and arousal into irritation.

"Ryo, I swear—"

He grinned and pushed the head in. Alice squeaked, but from her expression, Ryo figured it was surprise and not pain.

Oh no, that was definitely not pain.

He knew he was supposed to go slow and gentle, particularly if it was her first time. But Alice wrapped her legs around him again and pulled him in as close and deep as he could be. She buried her face in his shoulder and exhaled shakily. And then she huffed a laugh and kicked him in the back.

"C'mon, move," she demanded.

"Well excuse me for not wanting to hurt you," Ryo said.

"You're not, so get on with it."

And she really didn't seem bothered. She looked breathless and impatient, and her cheeks and neck were still flushed from when she'd come before and…

Shit. Fuck.

She was hot, and soft, and tight, and wet, and fuck, he'd suspected this would be better than his hand and some lotion, but he hadn't quite expected it to be this good, Jesus Christ.

He leant down and kissed her, a brush of the lips more than anything. She bit his lower lip as he pulled away and was looking at him like she wanted him to devour her when they drew apart.

He meant to go slower, really.

But Alice held him close, and then she fucking kicked him in the side, demanding he move more, and then…

It was on.

Alice fucked like she fought, and even though it was her first time, it was like battling her in the kitchen. She was relentless and held her own against him, pushing him on whenever he faltered.

She still made increasingly helpless attempts to stifle her sounds, burying her face in his shoulder, biting down on the muscle there while she held on tightly.

Ryo was so close he could taste it, more turned on than he could ever remember being. Still, he wanted to feel Alice come around him, wanted the chance to watch her face as she came for him.

Ryo dragged his teeth over her jaw line near her ear and asked, "Think you could come again?"

Alice nodded furiously, breathless. She made a sound that was probably a 'yes' and gave a little cry.

"What do you need?" he murmured, easing back on his movements so he could hear her.

The look she gave him was wrecked and desperate.

"I…" she choked out, but for once seemed at a total loss of words.

Ryo couldn't help smirking, but he figured he could tease her later. Instead, he put a hand between them, two fingers finding her clit and picking up a gentle rhythm.

It was harder to fuck her like this, but oh, it was so worth it, feeling Alice clench around him, watching her head fall back on the pillows.

She came faster than he expected, burying her face in both hands as she gasped out his name.

Next time, he was going to pin her hands above her head so she couldn't suppress a single sound she made.

She came again in quick succession, and Ryo damn near passed out. How on earth was she human?

Fuck, it felt so good, and she was clenching around him, and making those sounds, and—

His vision went white and then red, and the heady feeling reached a fever pitch and Christ, Alice held him close, brushing her fingers through his damp hair as he came harder than he could ever remember doing.

It took him what felt like an age before his breathing evened out. His heart was still racing and Alice still held him. She pressed soft kisses to the top of his head, to his temples, and when he lifted his head again, to his mouth.

The rabidness from before had eased, and when he pulled out of her, Alice wrinkled her nose.

"Why is it so messy?" she asked.

Ryo snorted and flopped down beside her.

"I hope you know that you're in charge of clean-up," she said.

"Wouldn't have expected anything less of you, Miss Alice," he said, chuckling. His eyes were heavy and the late spring afternoon was too comfortably warm.

Alice cleared her throat pointedly and Ryo smiled.

"Sorry, Miss," he said as he shifted so that she could cuddle against him. He trailed his fingers up and down her spine, enjoying the feeling of her tucked against him.

"That was fun," Alice said decisively. "We should definitely do that again."

"If you want to do that, you'll have to beat me in another food battle," Ryo said. He wasn't serious, but she didn't have to know that.

Alice pulled away from their cuddle to glare at him. "You're on, Ryo."