Page 99 of The Reign of Blood

“Nice roses. How many do you have now? Twelve?”

The wicked grin that tilts the corner of his mouth leaves me gaping at him as I connect the dots together. “They’re from you,” I breathe, and he nods, triumph dancing in his eyes.

“You’re welcome.”

“Get the fuck out of my room, Raiden.” I point a shaky hand toward the door, but he shakes his head at me.

“I don’t think I will,” he muses, plucking one of the roses from the vase and twirling it in his hand. I will the magic in the room to throw him out as I beg it to, but nothing happens. “I bet when Brody gave you the spell to protect your room, he didn’t mention the loopholes.” I gulp. He’s right, and he knows it.

“What loopholes?” I rasp, unsure if the glint in his eyes is a tinge of darkness or desire.

“Blood magic, for one” he states, like that explains it all.

“I don’t know what that means.”

He eliminates the distance between us, offering the rose to me, and despite my desire for him to get the hell out, I reach for it.

“You don't have to invite me in and you can’t throw me out because I sacrificed twelve droplets of my blood on these pretty little roses, and you walked them right into the protected space without any sway from me.”

37

ADRIANNA

“You gave me flowers to break through the protective spell on my room.” The words leave my mouth, rife with disbelief, as he grins at me.

“I did.”

“Why?”

“So you can’t hide from me. So I can be in here when I want to be and not just when you want me to be,” he explains with a shrug like it really is that simple.

“But I wasn’t hiding when you started giving them to me. That’s just today. And technically, I’m not hiding, I just don’t want to deal with you right now,” I correct, adrenaline coursing through my body.

“I knew it would happen eventually.”

I scoff.This man. This fucking man.“So you wanted to break past my trust.” I raise my eyebrow at him and he shrugs.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had your trust to break it.” Well, fuck. He has me there. “Now, we’re going to talk about this like adults. Where would you like to sit?” He waves a hand around the room as I shake my head.

“We’re not talking about anything. You’re going to get the hell out of my room and leave me in peace.”

He pulls the desk chair out, spinning it around on one leg before getting comfortable. The chair is backward, his arms folded over the back as he stares at me. It’s the most out-of-character thing I’ve ever seen this guy do. He’s prim, proper, and full of himself—always. And it doesn’t usually look like this.

“Adrianna, I’ve got all day, straight into the night, and I’m more than happy to skip out on tomorrow if it means we get to the bottom of this. How long this takes falls in your hands.”

This cannot be real right now. “You’re an ass.”

“No, I’m persistent, and you’re just now learning the extent of it,” he retorts with a shrug, and I turn away from him. I hate that I’m torn between slamming my fist into his jaw and claiming his full lips with my own.

I need him out of my space—quickly.

My gaze settles on the roses perched on the desk behind him. “Will you be kicked from the room if I throw out the roses?” He shakes his head, a teasing smile at the corner of his mouth. “How do I know if that’s true?”

Without missing a beat, he stands, the vase in hand, and marches over to my bedroom window. He swings it open before holding the vase in my direction. “Throw them. Find out.”

I blink at him, my chest clenching in pain for what will happen to the flowers if I toss them from my window. Rubbing my lips together, I take a deep breath, contain my rage, and remember one of my father’s lessons.

Sometimes, you have to be submissive to get the information you want. Have patience.

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