Page 142 of House of Pain
Would she ask him what last night meant? Would she ask him to be exclusive with her?
Would he sayyes?
But instead, Alecto said, “Last night was fun.”
Blaze blinked.
“Clearly, there was some tension that needed to be released,” she continued, and it made him smile.
“Certainly. Tons of tension.”
But the words that came out of her lips next were nothing if not surprising. “But we got it out of our systems, right?” She paused for a moment as Blaze’s face dropped. “I mean, we had our fun, and we can move on to everything being as it was. It’s going to be better for everyone, the House, I mean.”
Blaze resisted the urge to close his eyes and pinch his nose.
This woman.
Thisfuckingwoman.
Mercy?
He should have picked something asCrush My Immortal Soul, Stomp on My Balls while You’re at It, and Break My Fucking Ego on Your Way Outas her safe word.
Un-fucking-believable.
He let her sleep in his bed.
He gave up a piece of himself, and in return, she made him just another boy she had fun with before moving on to the next one.
Of course, Blaze didn’t say what he was thinking.
Instead, he willed his lips to curl into a smirk once more. “Of course, baby.”
Alecto nodded, crushing the butt of the cigarette in the ashtray before rising to her feet.
Just before she slipped through the door though, Blaze added, “I hope your fantasies are going to be enough to satisfy you.” Alecto stopped, her gaze snapping to his as her back stiffened. Blaze smiled lazily and then landed the killing blow: “But if not, I’ll make time in mybusyschedule for you. Don’t worry.”
The door slammed shut.
Back toexactlyhow it used to be, indeed.
46
People could only speculate that the Snakes were the ones to blame for the burning of the House of Tigers.There was no evidence. Yet, with each passing day, more and more students at Venefica were convinced that it was the Snakes’ fault.
And now Alecto had to face the rest of the Houses in the Liaison meeting. It’d already been more than a week since the prank, but no one was looking rather happy when Alecto walked through the door and took her seat at the table.
“Alecto,” Garcia said.
“Garcia,” Alecto replied, crossing one leg over another.
“So,” Garcia announced, straightening her back as she scanned the Liaisons at the round table. “Samhain is in two weeks’ time, and the Dean wanted to make sure that each House is ready for the celebration.”
“We’re always ready, sweets,” Killer said, winking. A few chuckles went around the table.
“Well, apparently not, because if my memory serves me well, it was your naked ass found in the park when the spell was broken last year,” Garcia shot back, and that wiped the cocky grin off Killer’s face real fast.
“Back to this year’s Samhain,” Garcia said. “The Dean passed me an official list of responsibilities that each House will have to take.”
