Page 71 of Hot Blooded
I scoff. “How can you call yourself an A.A. Milne fan and not be completely geeking out right now?”
The covers on these books are magical with the little sculptures on the front that pop right off the page, and that tiny classic Pooh on the side.
“Shall I get it for you?” he asks.
I bark a laugh. “Yeah right. Look at the last bid. You’re not spending forty thousand dollars on me.”
Reign shakes his head. “Sweetheart, that dress your wearing costs at least half that much.”
Looking down at myself, I suddenly feel very self-conscious. “Are you serious? That’s terrifying.”
“Don’t worry about it. Now, let’s write down a winning bid.” He grabs the pen and scratches away on the paper. I can barely bring myself to look at the terrifying sum he writes.
Reign reaches for my chin, bringing my eyes to his. “You have done so much for me since we’ve been together, Tressa. This is a little way to show you how precious you are to me.”
“Thank you,” I hear myself mumble.
His pupils get wide and glossy. “If I can’t give you children, at least I can spoil you with treasures you love. For now.”
I blink back the tears forming in my eyes, swallowing the lump in my throat. “You worry too much about… everything. I know you think this is wisdom from all your years on earth, but consider that it might just be your mind catastrophizing and conspiring to repeat a dialogue you’ve convinced yourself of, regardless of logic and reason.”
Reign’s face softens. A smile stretching his lips as his head shakes softly. “You’ve been planning that one for a while?” he asks, humor in his tone.
“Maybe,” I admit. “But it’s true. I think you made up a story about your life that you’re sticking to. But sometimes you need to shake up your own perceptions of yourself, of what you’re capable of.”
“Very wise. For a human who’s lived a fraction of my lifetime.” He kisses the tip of my nose as if to punctuate his point.
As soon as we reach the sumptuously spread table of hors d'oeuvres, Kai finds us again.
“How’s the bidding going?” she asks casually, although her eyes stare daggers at me. It’s obvious she still burns for Reign. Who wouldn’t though?
“Doing well,” Reign answers, his jaw twitching.
She flips her rich red locks over her shoulder with a laugh. “Same here. So, are you two, a thing now?”
Time seems to slow down as I hold a breath in, waiting for Reign to answer.
“Don’t worry about what I’m up to,” he answers, which of course doesn’t settle the question for anyone.
“I never pictured you with a human. How quaint,” Kai croons. “If I’m being honest, I imagined you with someone more… your equal.”
“Suppose that means you?” he scoffs, but my world tips off its axis nonetheless at the idea.
Kai just smiles, blinking her unnaturally long lashes in rapid succession.
Needing to balance myself, I reach down and stuff a bacon wrapped jalapeño in my mouth.
“Aw, she eats food even. How interesting is that?” Kai hisses.
My cheeks puff out while I chew around the oversized bite, processing the words. The insult.
Reign shifts on his feet. “As humans do. As we do too, in a different way. Now, if your you’re quite done making observations about my date, I think we’d better make our way around to find our host.”
As I swallow the mouthful of tasteless food, I turn my head to look back at her. “Your tag is sticking out.” I smirk.
Reign overhears me and looks back, and we both stifle a laugh as she checks herself over, eventually finding the offending tag.
“That was amazing.” He rests his big hand on my lower back and shivers rake through me again. Maybe from the champagne, which I definitely shouldn’t have finished, or maybe from his touch. Or both.
