Page 12 of Kings & Corruption

Fuck me. Lust was roaring through my veins. I was desperate to get away from him, to save myself from myself, but no way was I going to let him know that.

“Jezebel huh?” I affected a bored tone, even though the nickname stung a little. “How original.”

His jaw twitched, the only sign of emotion on his perfect face. “If the shoe fits.”

“Except it doesn’t,” I said.

“We live in asins-of-the-fatherworld,” Neo said, his voice like chips of ice. “I figured you knew that.”

“Maybe I just don’t buy it,” I said.

He stared me down. “Well, you better start.”

He was an asshole, but I knew what he meant. I was at Aventine now. Everyone here would think I was a traitor, and that meant I was enemy number one.

Fear clenched my chest like a vise. What was I doing?

“Hey, do you know when—” The voice, coming from behind Neo’s colossal body, broke the tension that had been lying like a spell between us. Rock stepped into the room. “Oh, you’re already here,” he said to me.

“Yep,” I said, still staring at Neo.

“I thought maybe Neo was checking to make sure your room was ready,” Rock said.

It seemed like an impossibility. Neo doing something — anything — nice for me? The Jezebel of Aventine?

Fat chance.

“Matt showed me up actually.” I didn’t take my eyes off Neo. “He was verywelcoming.”

The tic in Neo’s jaw jumped. Why was I getting off on pushing his buttons?

“Good,” Rock said. He looked at Neo. “Did you ask Willa if she was hungry?”

Neo tipped his head and cupped his right fist in his left palm like he was trying to keep from putting it through something. I caught the glint of a gold ring on one of his fingers, the faint shine of black stone. “Now why would I do that?”

Rock’s blue eyes flashed. He raked a hand through his shaggy golden hair, and I realized he wore a ring too. He moved too fast for me to be sure, but the rings looked the same — crowns with snakes, like Neo’s tattoo — except for the stone. Rock’s had a diamond, and I was betting the black stone on Neo’s was onyx.

“Did you at least show her the kitchen?” Rock asked.

I searched his eyes for the hatred I’d seen in Neo’s but didn’t find any. “He didn’t.”

Rock sighed. “What are you? A fucking savage?” he asked Neo before returning his attention to me. “Come on, I’ll show you around the rest of the house and get you fed.”

I forced a smile. No one who hung around Neo Alinari could be called a good guy, but if I had to choose, I’d take the hot one who wanted to feed me over the hot one who wanted to feed me to the wolves. “Thanks.”

I moved past Neo, making a point to crowd him a little just to prove I wasn’t scared of him. Except when my upper arm brushed against the warm skin of his forearm, the contact zinged through me like a freaking electrical current.

That move was obviously what Nana Russo would have calledcutting off my nose to spite my face.

My head cleared as I headed for the door behind Rock, like I’d been under the influence of some kind of intoxicant and someone had finally opened a window. I was going to have to be a lot smarter when it came to Neo if I didn’t want to end up as a puddle of goo at his feet begging for the D.

No way in hell was I going to let that happen.

Chapter6

Willa

The house just got better and better. Every bedroom had a private bath, although the ones on the second floor were less elaborate than the ones on the third floor.

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