Page 23 of B Negative

My gaze traveled to the far wall, to the shelves and all those stupid Starbucks tumblers.

Maybe I had let my temper get the best of me. Maybe if I hadn’t just lost Sunny, things would have gone differently. But they hadn’t, and all Julian could manage was that he had my best interests in mind.

I threw myself back onto the bed. What a crock of shit, I thought before settling in to distract myself with whichever app sparked the most joy.

Tiktok.

Obviously.

But even that dopamine-on-tap app couldn’t hold my attention long, and I found myself switching idly from app to app until I ended up in my banking app.

“Meh, why not,” I said, entering my password.

The moment the app loaded and my account balance appeared on the screen in big blue numbers, the phone slipped from my fingers.

I mumbled a curse, scrambled for my phone and double checked, counting the string of numbers.

Eight.

Eight figures.

“Twelve and a half million,” I whispered in utter disbelief. Last I’d checked I had about 2.5 mill in that account. I’d agreed to steal Titus’s scepter for ten million.

Had Julian paid me before I’d even delivered the goods?

“I always make good on my debts.” Julian’s voice broke through the haze of my thoughts, zinging through me, just as it always had.

I met his gaze, ignoring the electric tingles dancing up my skin as I gave him a quick once over.

Fuck, he looked good. White button-down with the first three or four buttons undone. No jacket, sleeves cuffed.

I swallowed and shoved every ounce of libidinous desire he dredged up in me back where it came from. I shot off the bed and stood as close as I dared.

“Are you trying to buy my forgiveness?” I asked, venom dripping from every syllable.

Julian’s brows pulled together, highlighting the deepened crease and the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. “No. But I don’t expect you to believe me, since you’re content to think the worst of me at all times.”

“Well, I can’t think of another reason you would pay me in full for a job I haven’t completed if it wasn’t to try to worm your way into my good graces.”

A feral snarl ripped from his throat as he stepped closer. “And just because you can’t conceive of it doesn’t mean a reason doesn’t exist,”

My mouth dropped in disbelief. “Insulting my intelligence. Perfect. Ideal even,” I sneered.

“Damnit, Eden, just listen to me.” He grabbed the tops of my arms, keeping me from turning away, and I fought to not let my eyes roll in bliss at his skin on mine.

Even when I hated him, my body wanted him.

What the fuck kind of sense did that make?

I wasn’t the only one. Julian’s pupils blew out to cover the entirety of his iris. He pulled me closer, the hard planes of his body pressing against mine.

“The money isn’t emotional manipulation, Eden. It’s a cover,” he said against the top of my head. His voice traveled through me, rumbling shit it had no business rumbling, but my brain couldn’t process his words. It was too busy cataloguing how good it felt to be against him again. He smoothed a hand down my back, and this time, my eyes did roll back.

Gooseflesh erupted down my arms and back, and Julian rumbled appreciatively at my body’s reaction.

My hands, which had been stiff and straight against my sides, reached for him without my say so. They yanked the back of his shirt from his pants and slid up the smooth hardness of his back.

Julian groaned. His hand slid down to my ass and grabbed my thigh, hoisting it up around his hip, perfectly aligning our bodies.

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