Page 40 of Petals and Fangs

“No, you don't just like it. You like testing my patience, and let me tell you, Ms. Snow, your efforts are not in vain.”

“Oh, really? And why is that?” she asks, folding her arms together.

“Because” I take a step closer to her.

“Because?” her voice gets shaky, but she still looks up at me. It is like she wants to prove something to me.

“Because I'm not a patient person, and I care about your safety. So please, don't go around being reckless, because you will only end up hurting yourself.”

“Why do you care?” her eyes are full of curiosity.

“I care about everyone in this building, Ms. Snow,” I tell her.

“That is not what you said earlier to me when I was in your bed.”

I smile and look down. I know what she is doing. I should confess she is so good at it, too.

“Well, that was different,” I tell her, my gaze still locked on hers.

“Why?” she asks, her voice soft.

“I don't know, but it was different. We are at work now, Ms. Snow. We must be professional,” I reply, looking down at her lips.

“Your rules are odd, Mr. Rothschild.”

“They are not. Everything is written in the file I provided you with yesterday,” I brush my fingers on her cheeks. I love seeing her shiver.

“You are not being so professional now.”

I don't reply. Instead, I place my hand on the back of her neck and pull her in, our bodies and lips are only inches away.

“You are such a tease,” I whisper to her, and the next thing I know, her lips are on mine. I can't let her enjoy it. I can't let her kiss me. She can't.

“That's all you get for today, Ms. Snow. This is not a game,” I push her away, and step back.

“I am not playing,” she says.

“I am not either. I feel like I know so many things about you already,” I reply, fixing the sleeves of my shirt.

“It is a weird thing that I have the very same feeling. Perhaps we are both right.”

“Are you sure you are being completely honest with me, Ms. Snow?”

She doesn't reply straight away. Her eyes widen and her cheeks flush red. I can tell she is nervous. She knows what I am referring to. She suddenly looks back at me, daringly.

“Of course,” she says.

“Are you lying, Lily?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

“I don't know why you think I'm lying, but you should get used to this fact. I don’t lie, and even if I do, you cannot catch me.”

“I can always catch you, darling.”

“I have a hard time believing it.”

“That is because you still don't know me.”

“And you still don't know me,” she smiles.

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