Page 44 of The Hunt of Night

“So you’ve still had access to my room this whole time?”

I should feel guilty, but I don’t. I predicted her moves and kept myself one step ahead. That’s who I am. That won’t change, especially when it comes to her.

“I snuck back in to move the roses, but that’s it,” I offer, but the mention of sneaking in again definitely doesn’t work in my favor.

“That’s it? You’re not supposed to sneak inanywhere, Raiden,” she hisses, and I shake my head at her.

“Do you know how tempting it is to know I could sneak in and watch you sleep? To consider lying beside you?” I ask, watching as she gapes at me. She doesn’t offer a response, but that doesn’t mean I’m done. “Well, it’s tempting,verytempting, I might add, but I haven’t, so that should count for something.” I lean back, folding my arms over my chest as I wait for her response.

“My steaks better not be getting cold over here,” Pearl interrupts, giving us both a pointed look before she saunters off. We wordlessly dig into the steaks on our plates before she comes back to tell us off again.

A silence descends over us, but this time it feels comforting, like there’s hope that everything just might be okay. Once we’re done, I leave some money on the table for Pearl. I always over-tip, and she always tells me off, but this time, I manage to slip out before there’s a chance. She’s too busy murmuring something to Adrianna to pay me any mind.

I use the moment of calmness to come up with a game plan with Adrianna, but the moment the thoughts start running through my head, I know I’m approaching it wrong. I need her to forgive me, but every path to that goal that I come up with is only me forcing her into something that will make her hate me more.

Pearl’s words from the other day ring in my mind and my spine stiffens.

“She needs to see your vulnerable side, Raiden.”

“I don’t have one.”

Or do I?

I wasn’t raised to have one; that’s the issue. Pearl is a human, wearing her emotions on her sleeve like so many others do, but that’s not something that’s passed through the vampire line.

The door swings open, the usual chime ringing through the night air, and I turn to see Adrianna lift her black hood over her head.

“What now?” she asks, turning to me awkwardly.

“That’s up to you,” I breathe, silently pleading for her not to take off without a backward glance.

To my surprise, she nods and takes off down the narrow cobbled road. I keep in step with her, relieved that she’s still here, even if it is in silence, but to my surprise, she cocks a brow at me a moment later. “Is this what you usually wear to visit Pearl’s?”

She’s far too observant for her own good.

“No, this is what I wear to visit my father,” I admit, the moon offering enough light for me to see her eyebrows lift at my honesty. “He didn’t know about my mother’s involvement in the whole fated mates situation, but he didn’t seem upset by it either,” I add, offering her full transparency even though she didn’t specifically ask for it.

“How does that make you feel?” she asks, catching me off guard.

My brows bunch together, uncertainty clawing up my spine as my pulse throbs. My fingers itch to massage my temples, but I tuck them into my pant pockets instead. “Honestly? Like a pawn in someone else’s game.”

“I know that feeling,” she replies, her words barely more than a whisper, but the truth in them hits me square in the gut.

“Enough about me. Well, in this sense, at least. How about you tell me how I can get the groveling in full swing,” I offer, praying for her to go along with the change in subject.

Curious eyes sparkle as she stares up at me.

“What does groveling look like to you, Raiden?”

Damn.

“I don’t know, but it definitely starts with me on my knees,” I muse, raking my eyes over the length of her. She may be hidden behind her black cloak, but I know those hot curves that are concealed right now.

“Your knees?” she breathes, and I’m moving before I can think.

Reaching for her waist, I tug her toward me, circling around the stone wall into a shadowed alcove obscured from view. Plastering her back against the wall, I hear the sharp intake of breath that renders her speechless as I drop to my knees before her.

“Raiden…” I don’t know whether it’s a warning, a plea, or a promise, but it goes straight to my cock.

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