Page 24 of Spin the Damn Bottle

"If I have to put something in your mouth to shut you up, I’m more than happy to do so."

Like that's a deterrent. I should be all sexed out for a least a week, but the semi-veiled threat awakens my body.

A sharp knock at my door interrupts me before I can think of a knock-knock joke.

"Perfect timing." Jace's only wearing boxers, and doesn't care one bit. He goes to open the door.

A woman in a sharp black suit, with a crisp white shirt hold up two silver platters. He takes both and closes the door in her face without a word.

"Rude," I say. "You could tip or say thank you."

"She's a Heritage employee, and she makes six figures for a very easy job. She doesn't need a tip, or a thank you."

"You're a terrible person. Why do I like you?"

"Hormones and chemistry, mostly." He grins unapologetically. "Plus, you're inexorably attracted to power, and I have that in spades."

I glare at him, hating him for thinking that. I don’t care about his power, or his money. He’s right about chemistry, and probably about hormones too, but my fascination with him started way before those kicked in. I noticed him at his brother’s funeral because he seemed sad, and cold, and empty, and I wanted to fix it. When we met again, my eyes were following him before I knew his name.

This thing between us started for all the wrong reasons. If it wasn’t for that day at the cemetery, he would never have noticed me. I’m not his type. He’d be more than happy to stick to his plan to get hitched to Yuki. And it would be more normal, healthier.

“Don’t make that face. I’m just teasing you. Dinner, then I’ll actually finish that tour I offered.”

“I don’t need a tour,” I say. “I’ve seen where my room is, I’ll figure out the rest. You don’t have to stay.”

He holds my stare before sighing, one hand running through his silky hair. "You know I like games as much as anyone, but I'm getting tired of this one, Nadia."

"I'm not playing," I mutter, frustrated with myself and him. "I was clear from the start." Letting him do whatever he wanted to me today probably didn't help getting my point across, though. "It's dangerous for me to be with you, when some psycho's happy to kill me to prevent that."

His tight jaw ticks, but after a long moment, he says, "Okay. Fine. But I take care of the problem and you stop this nonsense, are we clear?"

I frown. "It's hardly nonsense. I'm talking about staying alive."

"Are we clear?"

I watch him for seconds, before bobbing my head up and down.

The smile he shoots me leaves me rather uneasy. What exactly have I agreed to here?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I sleep like a rock. The bed is incredibly comfortable, and the orgasms certainly help.

In the morning, I somewhat regret not taking up Jason's offer for a tour, because I have no idea where the dining room Mel told me about is located. I put on my uniform, bypass the brand-new shoes in favor of my trusty old Docs, and arm myself with my headphones before heading out, bag dangling off one shoulder.

"Hey, cupcake."

There are only three boys using that stupid nickname, now that Jace has moved on to "doll." I'm not entirely certain which one's calling me until I turn around. "Rowan."

The object of young Monique's inappropriate fantasies jogs up to me. "Didn't know you were on our floor!" He grins and points to the left. "I'm three doors down on the other side, in case you need anything."

The hospitality is rather uncharacteristic, so I'm suspicious. "Why would I need anything?"

I find myself flushing. Did Jace and Cain tell him about yesterday? Is that why he thinks I'd go to his room?

He shrugs. "I hear you suck so bad in Calculus, you might fail. Wouldn't want that. If you have a question, you could buzz me."

"You're offering to tutor me?" I've entered another dimension, that's the only explanation I can think of. "Why? What's in it for you?"