Page 21 of Hateful Games

“Which floor was it again?” I mumble to myself, staring in confusion at the floor numbers inside the elevator. I check my mom’s text and roll my eyes while reading it.

Of course, his highness lives in the penthouse.

Pressing the button for the top floor, I try to relax as the elevator begins to rise. Meanwhile my mind runs amok with a million thoughts. Without my parents as a buffer, it will be the first time he and I will be alone after the stunt I pulled two years ago.

He has kept me on my toes, dreading his inevitable payback for the past two years.

I just know he’s toying with me, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

The elevator opens to the private hallway, the door at the opposite end. The second I’m standing outside, I take a deep breath before knocking once. I hear footsteps coming closer from the other side before the door whooshes open.

I gape at the chiseled six-pack abs that greet me and slowly trail my gaze upward to stare into a pair of dark eyes.

“Like the view, darling?”

Chapter Six

Rosalie

Am I in the wrong apartment?

Because the handsome and broody British man guy gazing down at me is not my fiancé. Though he looks about Nova’s age.

“Are you lost, love?” he asks, the accent giving me goosebumps.

It’s an involuntary reaction, due to my low-key obsession with accents. I don’t like my Indian one at all, unlike most people. Honestly, it’s boring as hell.

While I mutely stare at the grumpy stranger, looking like a fool and trying hard not to become distracted by his half-naked state. Which is hard, because he’s towering over me with his impressive height, arms flexed and expression intense.

Why the hell are all men around here so tall?

“Umm…” I clear my throat and mumble, “I’m sorry, I think I’m in the wrong apartment.”

I expect him to slam the door in my face judging from the irritated scowl on his screaming I disturbed him. But he surprises me when he asks, “Who are you here for?”

“Do you by chance have a neighbor named Nova?”

“No.” His head tilts, giving me a once-over. “But I do have a roommate named Nova.”

“Nova D’Cruz?”

“The one and only.”

It takes a few seconds to recover after digesting that I’ll have to share with not one, but two men. One practically a stranger, even if he’s tall, dark, and handsome personified. Still, I’m hoping he’s just a friend who spent the night on the couch.

I would book a hotel room in a heartbeat but with my dad keeping a vigilant eye on my credit card, he’ll immediately know I’m staying somewhere else. Then he’ll tattle to my mom and that’s a whole other headache I don’t need.

Still, the possibility of staying with them both… My nerves are shot.

“I thought he lived alone.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” he replies with an edge, indicating he’s slowly becoming irritated with my silly questions. Jeez. I should be the one irritated after a long-ass flight.

He doesn’t know that, though.

“And if you’re here to seduce him, don’t worry about me. ’Cause our bedrooms are soundproof.” I cringe in disgust, making his gaze deepen in mild curiosity. “I’m going to assume that’s not what you’re here for.”

Do I look that desperate? And just how many random women show up for him?

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