Page 26 of Insurrection
His beautiful face seemed cold and closed off in comparison to the version of him he had shown me previously. My heart ached with regret already as he gave me a nod back and strode away, perhaps taking the opportunity for my personal happiness with him. Already, I regretted my actions.
Didn’t I deserve some level of happiness? Was I masochistic? Would I always be okay with living the dark, lonely existence that Drayven and others had forced me into? Apparently, considering I had just pushed away someone who had genuinely seemed interested in me.
My chest felt heavy with the weight of that choice as I stared after him for a few moments before Drayven interrupted with his unwanted opinion. "I think that was a wise choice, Ama."
I rolled my eyes with my back to him still. Of course he did—he had hated the Dark Elf from the moment he’d seen us together in the courtyard back home.
Shaking my head and letting out a humorless laugh, I pushed open the door and answered, "Opinions are like assholes, Drayven. Just because you have one, doesn’t mean people want to hear you talk about it."
Without waiting for his response—because honestly, it felt like we kept having the same conversation over and over recently—I walked into our home away from home for the next few days. The ceiling had to span close to twenty feet, making the space seem massive.
The entryway opened to a sitting room, and it was obvious the space had been decorated to be reminiscent of our own house. Kudos to whoever their designer was because it was spot-on.
Thin, black silk curtains draped elegantly on each side of the three large windows on the far side of the room, letting some natural light into the room. A crystal chandelier hung from the center of the room over the two black velvet chairs, a couch, and a table, which were all situated on a large red and black area rug.
Walking further into the space, I took note of the fully stocked bar in the corner of the room and contemplated pouring myself something to help soothe my nerves. The two large doors on the opposite side of the room captured my interest, though, and I made my way over to them instead.
Cracking the door closest to the entrance of our suite, I saw that it was a stunning bathroom with a sleek obsidian tub that called my name.I'll be back for you, my sweet.That would be the perfect way to relax tonight.
Closing the first door, I moved to open the other and frowned when I saw Drayven had already shoved his way into the room beyond and was making himself at home as if it washisbedroom. I didn't even have time to properly appreciate the gorgeous four-poster canopy bed because I was irritated as hell by the way he was lying on it with his shoes still on.Neanderthal.
His eyes were closed like he didn't have a care in the world, and I growled, "Would you mind getting the fuck off my bed so you stop dirtying it with your shoes?"
Apparently I wasn't even worth the effort of opening his eyes as he responded, enjoyment evident in his tone, "What do you mean,yourbed? This isourbed and I'll lay on it with my shoes on if I want to."
A real laugh burst from me at his words.Yeah fucking right.
I was close to hitting a point of no return with Drayven, and eventually, I would explode. Between his asshole behavior and the accusatory tone he always used with me, I just couldn’t handle him. I couldn’t handle my attraction to someone who was such a dick. A dick, mind you, who wore shoes in bed. The absolute worst kind.
Once my laughter had been contained, I countered, "I'll admit, that was funny, but now kindly get the hell out of my space and go find your own room."
Now his eyes opened, and he turned towards me, pieces of his silver locks falling across his forehead as he smirked at me. "It wasn't a joke, Ama. I asked on our way up here if the area Finias was showing you was for just you, or if it was for our house in general."
He had to have done something to arrange this. It would completely throw me off mentally.
He sighed as if I was bothering him with my questions now, which irritated the hell out of me. "I don't make these decisions, Ama, despite what I'm sure you're telling yourself in your head right now. This is what we're getting, and we just have to deal with it, okay?"
I didn't like the situation, but I also didn't want to cause a scene over it, because it wasn't worth smearing the reputation of our house just because I didn't want to share a room with someone. I'd look like an absolute brat, and that was the last thing I needed.
The shock on his face when I responded, "Okay. We'll just deal with it," was priceless. He definitely hadn't expected me to give in so easily, and I enjoyed his miffed expression.
Shrugging my shoulders, I explained, "It's only for a few days. I need to be focused on more important things like networking and finding allies, not throwing a fit over our sleeping arrangements."
He pushed up to a sitting position and pinned me with a look as if he was seeing me for the first time. Nope, never mind, that was suspicion.Good.I hoped he was suspicious and paranoid for the rest of the day. That was payback for being so damn infuriating.
"That's...very mature of you." How did the bastard manage to make a compliment seem like an insult?
A knock sounded at our door as someone called out, "Your bags!"
Sliding off the bed, Drayven walked past me to get them as he said, "If you want to freshen up or whatever, I'll stay out here. We can go find some food for lunch after that if you'd like."
Staring at his broad back, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I preferred this polite communication between us over our normal squabbling. Maybe I had been wrong—maybe I wasn’t going to end up losing it and killing him. Yet.
It would definitely make the next few days together easier, and I needed to do my part in not giving the other houses any reason to sense animosity within ours. They would take any piece of information and twist it to their advantage, of that I was sure.
My stomach rumbled as if Drayven mentioning food gave it permission to demand sustenance this loudly. As soon as he dropped our bags into the bedroom, I decided to extend an olive branch back to him. "I think I'm set to go find something to eat now if you are? Knowing me, I'll get lost and never find my way back if I go alone."
I swallowed the lump in my throat at this white flag that seemed to have been raised between us.How long could it last?
