Page 23 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

I made a show of looking it over as I tugged on the fabric a little, causing a little more of my cleavage to be on display.

Alaric gave me a flat stare in return, which I returned witha salacious grin. He let out a long-suffering sigh next, which only made me grin wider. He was so easy to mess with.

“Come on.” He stepped around me and continued down the hall. “Let’s get this over with.”

I followed him around the corner and down another long hallway until we entered a door at the very end.

Of course, he would choose a study as far away from others as possible. Aside from Kieran, Alaric preferred to keep his own company as much as possible.

He went directly to his desk and took a seat before gesturing at one of the dark red velvet chairs across from him. I ignored him and walked around slowly, continuing my perusal of his space, partly to annoy him but mostly because I was curious.

Despite Alaric and I disliking each other, we were similar in a lot of ways. We were the same age, both of us had grown up in the shadows of others at House Harker, we both claimed Kieran as a friend, and we were both ambitious and more than willing to be cutthroat when needed. Despite all of that, our ideal workspaces fell under the “different” category and not the “similar” one.

“Are you sure this is your study?” I frowned, glancing around dramatically. “There’s nothing in here. Do you just sit at your desk and glare at anyone who dares to enter your domain?”

“You are literally surrounded by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, all of which are full,” he replied evenly. “Now if you’ll just—”

“There’s nothing on your desk, though.” I perched on the corner of his very large, very empty desk and tossed one leg over the other. The movement made the fabric part, leaving most of my right thigh exposed.

A muscle ticked just below Alaric’s right eye, and I gave him a lazy smile.

“It’s okay.” I leaned over and reached out to pet his hand, which was clenched so tightly into a fist that I was surprised there wasn’t blood leaking out. The movement gave him a view straight down my dress. “I won’t tell anyone that you hide out in here all day just to play pretend advisor.”

“Get. Your. Ass. Off. My. Desk,” he ground out. “I know what you’re doing, and I didn’t have time for it when we were kids, and I sure as shit don’t have time for it now.”

I snickered before sliding off his desk and onto one of the velvet chairs that were every bit as uncomfortable as they looked. While my aunt liked to invite people into her study to discuss things, Alaric made it very clear that people only needed to state their business and get out.

“You make it so easy to push your buttons.” I laughed. “Just checking to see if maybe you’d developed a personality over these last few years.”

“It’s a shame you didn’t trade out your personality for one less annoying,” he sniped back.

“Looks like that’s something you and Marvina agree on,” I said dryly.

He snorted, making the sound somehow seem intelligent, and pulled out a stack of papers from a drawer. “I spoke with Carmilla earlier this week and drafted up a dissolution based on the marriage contract between you and Demetri. Even without the recent events, they’re in violation of several stipulations. Marvina will likely push back just to avoid looking weak, so I kept it simple for now.”

“She will absolutely fight it.” I held my hand out, but Alaric just stared at me. Shadows be damned. He was so frustrating.

Keeping my left hand outstretched, I braced my other elbow on the desk and plopped my chin into my palm. If he wanted to be childish, I could play that game too. It’s not like I had anywhere else to be.

After a minute, he caved and slapped the papers into my hand, then looked towards the door in clear dismissal.

Nice try.

“Did Carmilla also tell you that I wanted to support House Harker?”

“She might have mentioned it.” He leaned back in his chair and gave me an appraising look. “I assumed you’d be assuming the role of the House Harlot.”

“That does have a fun ring to it.” I let my eyes wander over his face.

Even I had to admit that you’d have to be blind not to find Alaric attractive. His skin was a rich dark brown that seemed to glow against the well-fitted black clothes he always wore.

I’d witnessed more than one courtesan openly admire the chiseled jawline, sharp cheekbones, and striking eyes that made up his handsome face. His mouth was wide with lips that I would have dreamed about kissing if they were on literally anyone else.

Those gorgeous lips flattened into a hard line, and one corner of my mouth tugged up into a lopsided grin.

While Kieran knew how gorgeous he was and absolutely loved the attention, Alaric always seemed to be uncomfortable when others checked him out. I was pretty sure that was the reason he always wore nothing but simple black clothes instead of the bright clothing Kieran always donned. Alaric was more than happy to blend into the background and let Kieran attract all the attention.

But those goddamn eyes of his always drew people in. They reminded me of the ocean with their dominant sea-foam green and the turquoise lines that weaved through them.

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