After dinner, Jove retired to the common room, curious as to whether his mother would follow through on her threat to lock his door. The possibility annoyed him for practical reasons as much as it chafed in a basic sense to experience her flexing her authority. It was like having a bedtime again.
"Are you the only one still up?" asked Aster.
Jove glanced toward the door, setting aside his phone for the moment. "Seems like it."
Eve had been online for a bit after dinner, playing Vertimon from her room, but was probably asleep now, given that her player name had gone dark in his friend's list. He assumed his mother was in her office, doing director things or resting.
"You don't have to stop what you're doing for me, darling," said Aster. "What's that game you and Eve have been playing?"
"Vertimon." He smirked and showed her the screen. "It's a pokemon knockoff."
"Ooh, can I play, too?" She took out her phone, looking hopeful.
"The app won't install on an iPhone, unfortunately," he said.
"That's no fair." Aster took a spot on the couch next to him. "At least let me watch you play?"
"Sure, but it might be tricky for you to get a good angle."
"Can't you put it up on the wall screen?"
"Oh yeah." He activated screen sharing and chuckled as he saw the game's simple 2D graphics displayed in all their glory on the massive display.
"What are you doing in game right now?" asked Aster.
"Leveling up. Killing the same enemies over and over again."
"Sounds fun."
She stretched out on the couch, draping her feet in his lap. The casual but intimate posture instantly stoked memories of the night they'd played truth or dare and drank tequila and crossed the line in the sauna. Jove had a sudden stroke of genius.
"Aunt Aster," he said. "How about I put on a movie instead? Then I'll have my hands free to give you a foot rub."
He watched her blink and hesitate. He'd already given her one on that same illicit night which hung over all their interactions. If she remembered it, he'd have his answer about how drunk she'd really been. If she claimed not to, he still might see something telling in her reaction.
"I… don't even remember the last time a man offered me a foot rub," said Aster, carefully.
She was such a good actor. Jove smiled, put the movie on, and began touching her feet, feeling himself growing far more aware of her and her body. She had on a plain flower printed nightgown, sans bra, and her blonde hair was loose about her shoulders.
"I should strip these off if you really want a good one," he said, fingering the top of her socks.
"Strip away, darling," said Aster.
He had expected more pushback than that. Jove slowly peeled her socks off, taking his time and letting his fingers stroke along her calf and ankle. Aster acted as though her full attention was on the movie's long opening sequence, but he could already hear a slight flutter in her breathing.
"How's this?" he asked, watching her as he rubbed sensually.
"Mmm, that's perfect," she breathed. "You have such a nice touch."
"Your skin is so soft."
He let his fingers slip a little higher, pulling her leg further onto her lap. Her nightgown had ridden up a bit, but she didn't seem to care that she was flashing her panties to him.
His cock slowly began to get hard. One of Aster's feet flexed in response to it, her pinky brushing along his hardening girth through his track pants.
"We're going to run out of movies to watch at some point," said Aster. Her foot moved again, nuzzling against his cock with more intention.
"Just have to make do with what we've got."
He went further up with his hand, daring to touch the bottom edge of her thigh. Aster sucked in a breath. Neither of them said anything, as though not acknowledging how luridly they'd begun touching one another placed it in the same realm as the movie on the screen.
"Is your mother asleep?" asked Aster.
"Probably," he said.
The room thrummed with a barely contained energy. The memory of their night together burned in his mind, amplified by the faint but intoxicating scent of lavender soap and her almost imperceptible shiver beneath his touch.
His fingers inched higher, tracing the inside of her midthigh now. Aster stiffened, her breath catching in her throat. A flicker of alarm passed through her eyes, quickly masked by a practiced façade of calm.
"Jove..." Her voice was a strained whisper, a plea for him to continue as much as stop, laced with a heady undercurrent of desire.
"There's some tension up here, Aunt Aster," he said, quietly. "Want me to get it for you?"
He groped her upper thigh and let his thumb flick at the end of panties. His cock was stiff and obvious now, and Aster's foot was rubbing back and forth with regular motions.
"Jove, darling…" Aster rocked her hips upward, feeling into his hand as he started touching her through her damp panties. "I think…"
The door to the common room suddenly slid open. Jove froze, sliding his hand back down to her foot as casually as he could in the seconds that followed. Aster pulled her feet back and off his lap.
"It's ten PM, Jove," said his mother. "You have a curfew, as you know."
Aster let out a chuckle and Jove felt his face growing hot.
"I'm a grown man, not a five-year-old," he said.
"I don't want a fight." Kira came to stand behind the couch and touched his shoulder. "Please, Jovian. Prove to me that you can respect my authority and I'll take the door lock off in a few days."
"Makes sense to behave for now, darling," said Aster, expression sympathetic and still a little flushed.
He adjusted himself as he stood up. Aster smiled and caught his gaze for a parting second as his mother led him off to bed.