Chapter 38: Keres’ First Promise
Faye, Alfonso, and Dina had already left the office, their footsteps fading down the hallway. The sudden silence that followed felt heavy, pressing against the walls of the spacious executive office like a physical weight.
Asteria stood by the small kitchenette area, her fingers carefully folding the cloth wrapper that had held Keres’ breakfast bento. She had just tucked the empty container back into its paper bag, smoothing down the creased edges, when she turned to check on the other items on the desk.
Her eyes landed on the stainless steel tumbler sitting beside Keres’ laptop. It was completely empty, not even a drop of condensation remaining on its surface. Asteria picked it up, feeling the lightness of it in her palm, and frowned slightly. "Oh, I’ll just go and get you water outside—"
She was already turning toward the door, her body angled to stand, when a hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist. The grip was firm, insistent, pulling her backward with a strength that made her stumble.
Before she could regain her balance, she found herself being guided down, her body moving on instinct rather than resistance, until she was sitting squarely on someone’s lap. Keres’ lap.
"Where are you going, wife?"
The voice was low, dripping with that familiar mocking tone that Asteria had come to associate with the worst sides of Keres. This wasn’t the embarrassed woman from earlier, the one who had stuttered and looked away when Asteria had watched her eating breakfast.
This wasn’t the vulnerable Keres who had ate like a child. This was the Keres that everyone else knew—the one who commanded boardrooms with a single glance, who made grown men tremble in their suits, and who had built a reputation on ruthlessness and dominance.
Asteria’s breath caught in her throat, her body going rigid against the warmth that suddenly surrounding her. She could feel the hard planes of Keres’ thighs beneath her, the way her back pressed against the firm wall of Keres’ chest.
"U-Uh~ Uhm... I’ll grab you some water."
"But there’s water on the nearby table," Keres said, her breath ghosting against the shell of Asteria’s ear, sending shivers down her spine. "I always kept mine special."
Asteria followed Keres’ gaze to the side table near the window, where indeed a crystal pitcher sat half-full, catching the morning light.
She felt heat rush to her cheeks, the blush spreading from her neck up to her hairline. She looked away, staring at the abstract painting on the opposite wall, anywhere but at the woman holding her.
But looking away did nothing to diminish the sensations assaulting her senses. She could feel Keres’ body against her back, warm and grounding and impossibly hard. The muscles beneath her were coiled tight, evidence of hours spent in the gym, but there was something else too—a predatory stillness that reminded Asteria that this woman didn’t just work out for health.
She trained for violence, for the moments when she needed to assert dominance physically, and when words weren’t enough to claim her territory.
"K-Keres—" Asteria’s voice came out smaller than she intended, breathy and uncertain.
"You’re trembling," Keres observed, her free hand coming to rest on Asteria’s waist, thumb tracing small circles through the fabric of her blouse.
"I know you’re running away from me. And yet, you chose to stay here alone with me."
Asteria’s breath hitched audibly, her heart thumping so loudly in her ribcage that she was certain Keres could hear it. The organ felt like it was trying to escape, hammering against bone and flesh, making her feel lightheaded.
She couldn’t seem to draw in enough air, the office suddenly feeling too small, too intimate. "T-that’s... T-That’s not w-what—"
She didn’t get to finish the sentence. Keres’ hand moved from her waist to the back of her neck, fingers threading into her hair with a possessiveness that left no room for protest.
The grip was controlling but not painful, guiding Asteria’s head back and to the side until their eyes met. Then Keres closed the distance between them and kissed her.
It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t the tentative first kiss of new lovers exploring each other. It was claiming, demanding, a statement of ownership that burned through Asteria’s defenses. Keres parted her lips with insistent pressure, sliding her tongue inside without waiting for permission, swirling it against Asteria’s with a confidence that spoke of vast experience.
The taste of her was overwhelming—coffee and something uniquely Keres, dark and intoxicating.
Asteria whimpered into the kiss, the sound was embarrassing and helpless, her body trembling violently now as if she were cold despite the heat radiating between them. She could feel herself blushing so deeply that her face felt like it was on fire, her lungs burning from lack of oxygen but unable to pull away.
The world narrowed down to the wet heat of Keres’ mouth, the grip on her nape, the way her own body was melting despite every alarm bell ringing in her mind.
When Keres finally broke the kiss, it was only to move her mouth to Asteria’s neck, peppering the exposed skin with open-mouthed kisses that were hot and wet by Keres’ marking saliva. Each press of lips sent electricity shooting through Asteria’s nerves, making her head spin and her thoughts scatter like leaves in a storm.
She let out another whimper, her hands coming up to grip Keres’ arms, though whether she was trying to push her away or pull her closer, she couldn’t tell.
"K-Keres— w-we’re at your office—" Asteria managed to gasp out, her voice shaking so badly the words barely formed properly.
"Do you think I care about that?" Keres’ voice was firm, uncompromising, as she used her grip on Asteria’s hair to gently but insistently yank her head back, exposing more of her throat.
The angle was just enough to make Asteria feel the power imbalance, to remind her who was dominating whom, but stopped short of actual pain. It was calculated, precise, the kind of control that terrified Asteria more than violence would have.
"Please—" Asteria whispered, the word escaping before she could stop it. She wasn’t even sure what she was begging for anymore.
For Keres to stop? For her to continue? For the ground to open up and swallow her whole so she wouldn’t have to face the confusing tangle of fear and need coiling in her stomach?
Keres pulled back just enough to meet her eyes, and Asteria saw the smirk playing at the corners of her mouth—that infuriating, arrogant expression that made her look like a cat who had cornered a particularly interesting mouse.
Keres leaned in close, her lips brushing against Asteria’s ear as she spoke, her breath was hot and damp against her sensitive skin. "Tell me you want this, Asteria... And I’ll mark this as our first consummation of marriage as a newlywed couple."
The words sent a jolt through Asteria’s body, making her weak and needy in ways she didn’t want to examine too closely. The heat of Keres’ breath against her ear, the implication of what she was suggesting, the way her voice dropped to that intimate register—it all combined to reduce Asteria to a trembling mess. "Hnnn~ p-please~ w-we’re at your office."
Keres scoffed, the sound low and vibrating against Asteria’s neck. "If you really don’t want this, you should’ve pushed me away and told me no. But instead, you kept saying we’re at my office like you want me to move you to a place that it’s only the two of us." She stated it as fact, her tone maddeningly confident, and Asteria’s eyes widened as the logic penetrated her fogged mind.
"N-No~" she faltered, her protest sounding weak even to her own ears. She tried to gather her scattered thoughts, to find the words to explain herself, to deny the accusation that felt too close to the truth. "I... I just really wanted to... T-To bring you food—"
She didn’t get to finish. Keres suddenly shifted, her hands moving to Asteria’s hips with a speed that made her gasp. Before she could process what was happening, Keres was lifting her, turning her, positioning her until she was straddling Keres’ lap, facing her directly.
The new position brought them impossibly close, chest to chest, face to face, with nowhere to hide. Asteria’s hands flew to Keres’ shoulders for balance, her fingers digging into the expensive fabric of her suit jacket.
But Keres wasn’t done. With a surge of strength that shouldn’t have been surprising but still shocked Asteria, she lifted her completely off the chair. Asteria let out a startled cry, her legs wrapping around Keres’ waist instinctively as she was carried the short distance to the coffee table.
The surface was cleared of everything except a few magazines, which went scattering to the floor as Keres laid Asteria down on the polished wood, following her down to loom over her.
The position left Asteria sprawled beneath her, vulnerable and exposed, her hair fanning out around her head. Keres braced herself on her arms, caging Asteria in with her body, looking down at her with that same smug smirk that made Asteria want to simultaneously slap her and pull her closer.
"I’m an experienced womanizer, Asteria," Keres said, her voice dropping to a husky whisper that skated over Asteria’s nerves like blade over skin. "I know when a woman is horny or not."
The bluntness of the statement made Asteria’s face burn even hotter, mortification mixing with the arousal she couldn’t deny. She tried to look away, but Keres captured her chin, forcing her to maintain eye contact.
Then Keres moved, capturing both of Asteria’s wrists in one of her large hands and pinning them above Asteria’s head against the table.
The restraint sent a thrill of panic through Asteria, her breath coming in heavy, heaving gasps that she could feel pressing against Keres’ chest where they touched. The rhythm of her breathing was erratic, desperate, and she knew Keres could feel it too—the way her body rose and fell beneath her, the way her pulse hammered in her throat.
The knowledge that Keres could sense her fear, her arousal, her complete loss of control only seemed to make the younger woman more powerful, more predatory.
"P-Please, Keres~ don’t do this~" Asteria whispered, her voice breaking as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. The plea was genuine now, the fear cutting through the haze of desire.
She felt overwhelmed, cornered, unable to process the intensity of the moment or the conflicting emotions tearing through her. A tear escaped, tracking down her temple toward her hairline, and she let out a weak, trembling sob.
And then something changed.
Keres froze above her, her grip on Asteria’s wrists loosening almost imperceptibly. Her expression shifted, the smugness fading into something else—something confused and pained.
Seeing Asteria this vulnerable, tears streaming down her face, trembling beneath her in genuine fear rather than nervous excitement—it made something inside Keres break.
It was a physical sensation, an ache that started in her chest and spread outward, throbbing with each beat of her heart. It was unfamiliar and terrifying, this sudden urge to protect rather than possess, to comfort rather than conquer.
Keres took a deep breath, visibly forcing herself to calm down. Slowly and carefully, she loosened her grip on Asteria’s wrists completely, releasing them from above her head.
But instead of pulling away, she guided Asteria’s arms down, gently encouraging them to wrap around her own shoulders, to hold her instead of fighting her.
Asteria hesitated for a moment, confusion cutting through her tears, before she tentatively looped her arms around Keres’ neck. The position was less threatening now, more intimate, and Asteria found herself crying harder, the trembling returning in full force as the adrenaline crashed and left her exhausted and emotionally raw.
Keres lowered herself slowly, until she was fully covering Asteria without the threatening weight from before. She pressed a soft, chaste kiss to Asteria’s forehead, lingering there, her lips warm and gentle against Asteria’s skin.
"I’m sorry," she whispered, the words barely audible, rough with emotion. "I’m so sorry."
"P-Please~ please, Keres. Don’t d-do this~ don’t hurt me." Asteria pleaded, her voice muffled against Keres’ shoulder, her fingers clutching at the fabric of her coat as if it were a lifeline.
The tears were flowing freely now, and her body wracked with sobs she couldn’t control.
The sound of those words—don’t hurt me—hit Keres like a physical blow. She finally acknowledged the thing breaking inside her, the sharp pain that accompanied the realization that she had been the one to cause this fear, these tears.
She nodded against Asteria’s hair, her own eyes closing as she held the smaller woman close, adjusting her arms to cradle her more securely, protectively. As if she could shield her from everything including herself.
"Yes~ yes, I’m sorry, Asteria... I won’t do this again~ forgive me." Keres whispered, her voice thick with an emotion she didn’t want to name.
As she held Asteria and listened to her cry, Keres’ mind raced with chaotic thoughts. "Fuck! I made my wife cry, I’m so stupid and so fucking animal! But why?! Why am I feeling this way?! I should’ve hated her! I should’ve used her! Take and punish her!" The internal monologue was vicious, self-loathing mixing with confusion. "But why am I breaking as I saw her like this? Scared~~~~ God! I don’t wanna make her scared anymore."
The realization was jarring and unwelcome. She had spent so long building walls, convincing herself that this marriage was just another convenience, an arrangement, that Asteria was just another pawn in her game.
But holding her now, feeling her shake with genuine fear that Keres herself had caused—it was undoing something fundamental in her psyche.
"P-Promise me, y-you won’t scare me like this again. P-Please, Keres?" Asteria continued to cry, her voice was small and broken, her face buried in the crook of Keres’ neck.
Keres pulled back slightly, just enough to look down at Asteria’s face. Her expression had softened completely, the predatory glint replaced by something tender and regretful.
She reached up with one hand, using her thumb to gently wipe away the tears tracking down Asteria’s cheeks, her touch was feather-light. Then she leaned down and pressed a kiss to the corner of Asteria’s eye, tasting the salt there.
Asteria closed her eyes at the gentle contact, her grip on Keres’ shoulder and collar tightening as if she were trying to anchor herself, to find stability in the storm of emotions.
She held on like she might drown if she let go, her breathing slowly beginning to even out as the fear subsided.
"I promise... I won’t scare you like this again." Keres whispered, the vow sounding solemn in the office. She continued to embrace Asteria securely, one hand stroking soothingly up and down her back, the other cradling the back of her head.
She held her like she was precious, fragile, something to be cherished rather than claimed.
The morning sun continued to stream through the windows, casting long shadows across the carpet, but neither of them noticed. They stayed there on the coffee table, tangled together, as the minutes ticked by and the outside world continued on without them.
The paper bag with the empty bento box sat forgotten on the desk, the water pitcher remained untouched on the side table, and the office door stayed closed, keeping their moment private and contained.
Asteria’s sobs gradually subsided into hiccups, then into shaky breaths, until finally she was just lying there in Keres’ arms, exhausted but no longer afraid.
She didn’t pull away, and Keres didn’t rush her. They simply existed in the silence, the boundaries between them had been made and redefined, waiting for whatever would come next.
