Page 27 of Bloody Kingdom

The clock on the oven tells me it’s almost two in the morning. “Is there a reason you’re up so late eating soggy cereal?”

Quincey chuckles softly like she’s exchanging an inside joke with herself. “Let’s just say I’m afraid to hurt Della’s feelings.”

She must not know Della that well yet, because nothing hurts that woman’s feelings. I swear she’s stronger than me at times. “I’m not following.”

Looking sheepish, Quincey tucks a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear. “She made fish for dinner and I’m not exactly a fan of seafood. So, instead of telling Della I don’t like her food, I snuck down here for some cereal.”

“You’ve gone toe to toe with me, but you cower to Della?”

“I’m not afraid to hurt your feelings, mostly because I’m not convinced you have any.” She gives me a pointed look. “Although Della hasn’t been entirely welcoming, she’s notthathorrible, and I don’t want to hurt hers.”

Where I will hurt whoever it takes to get what I want, Quincey wants to save people, not hurt them. She’s a nurturer, and I’m a destroyer. We couldn’t be more different.

“While that’s very considerate of you, it’s foolish. Della will not be bothered by you not liking her food. She will, however, be bothered you lied to her.” Knowing Della, she already knows how Quincey feels about seafood, but she’s waiting her out to see how long it’ll take Quincey to speak up.

“Well, I’m still hoping that she never finds out. So, let’s agree to keep this to ourselves for the foreseeable future.” She smiles sweetly. “I’m choosing to think of it as a challenge for myself. This job is quite boring, and I need all the entertainment I can get. My goal is to hide my dislike from Della for my entire stay here.”

I knew this job would be boring, but it gives me peace of mind that someone is here twenty-four hours to attend to Ira. Even if most of the time he’s sleeping. Part of me sympathizes with Quincey. I wouldn’t do well cooped up in this house for days—no, weeks—on end. It’s just dawning on me that she hasn’t even gone outside since she’s been here.

“That seems childish,” I criticize. “Surely there’s a better game you could be playing.”

“Ira tried to play chess with me, I’m sorry to report I’m not good at it.” She leans her hip against the marble countertop in front of me, mirroring my stance. This is the closest I’ve been to her since I had her pinned to the wall, naked. “He’s got a couple years of experience on me. I think it makes him happy to beat me, so I’ll keep playing with him.”

“He’s a competitive man.” I’ve always been too busy to play with him as much as I’d like. “Much like me, he likes to win.”

“Hmm,” she murmurs. “I don’t get the impression you ever lose.” Her head tilts up, allowing me to look into those soft blue eyes of hers.

“You’d be correct,” I answer, my voice low. “I always get exactly what I want, and I’m not afraid to kill or steal to get it.”

“Oh,I know.” The corner of her mouth tips in a smirk. “I’m a prime example of how far you’ll go to get something.”

“What I did to acquire you was child’s play in the grand scheme of my life. The lengths I’ll go to protect or obtain something that’s mine are unimaginable. There aren’t any lines I won’t cross.” I inch closer to her, our chests only centimeters apart. My neck cranes down some too so we are eye level. My eyes can’t help but flick to those lips I’ve been dreaming about. “This is my kingdom, and no one could stop me from burning the whole fucking thing down if I wanted to.”

Her heart beats loudly in her chest. We stand so close, I can almost feel it through my button-down. “Are you trying to scare me again?” Quincey whispers softly. Her breath brushes against my face as she speaks.

I don’t answer her question, but instead ask her a question of my own. “Are you scared, Quincey?” Her name rolls off my tongue before I can stop it.

A gleam, one I haven’t seen in her eyes before, appears. It’s almost wicked. The look intrigues me, making me wish I could hear what she’s thinking in this very moment. “No.” She smirks. “I’m not scared. I wasn’t oblivious to how powerful you are, that was never a mystery to me.” Those eyes of hers flick to my lips as her hand comes up and her fingers trace across my white button-down. “You have red lipstick on your shirt, Mr. Laurent.”

Her warm palm lies flat on my chest, the heat that radiates off her almost sears into my skin as she pushes away from me. Without another word, she walks out of the room, not once looking back at me.

On my shirt, I find an unmistakable red smear. I’d gone multiple hours without noticing the blemish.

Rowena is marking her territory now? She’s sadly mistaken in thinking I’ll ever be hers.

The only explanation for the sudden surge of jealousy that coursed through me like a poison when I spotted the lipstick stain is that I truly do have Stockholm syndrome. Or after being stuck in this fucking prison for weeks on end, I’m starting to go crazy. The lack of social interaction with anyone but him and his employees is making me lose my mind.

I’m fixating on him as a distraction.That has to be it.

The alternative is I actually am jealous of the woman he was with last night and that’s just not acceptable to me.

I need to get out of here—just a small reprieve from this house to clear my head.

Another day spent sitting with Ira and wandering the halls of the house. Still, I stay within the guidelines Silas gave me when he gave me his tour, but each day I stand at the mouth of the hallway that leads to his room, and each day I grow more and more curious. It’s my unfortunate and unhealthy obsession with him that is driving me to go searching. His room is sure to hold some answers.

I told him I wouldn’t go rifling through his underwear drawer, but I’m so bored and feeling nosy, I’m seriously considering doing just that.

With gloved hands, I carry the bag of hazardous material downstairs after changing the IV in Ira’s arm. Yet another one of his veins had blown, and blood was leaking out of it. I’m worried if this keeps up, a doctor will need to come and put a port in his chest so I can administer his fluids and meds.

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