Spencer bit her lip. “Actually—”
“Don’t even say it!” Kiernan was horrified.
“But—”
“He told you he’s in love with you, Spence. Have you ever heard any of his exes claim the same thing?”
Spencer slowly shook her head. Etienne had never been emotionally involved with any of the women he dated, that much was true, but…
“Lastly…”
Her head shot up. There was more? How was it that Kiernan knew so much about relationships, and she hadn’t a single clue?
“I also believe that Mr. H’s alpha qualities—”
Spencer couldn’t help snorting at that. “You make him sound like a wolf.”
“Well, isn’t he?”
“Nope. He’s not.” Spencer had to allow herself the tiniest smirk. “If anything, he’s more like, um…the Edward Cullen type?”
“Exactly!”
Spencer nearly dropped her burrito at Kiernan’s gasp. Had her roommate somehow discovered the truth?
“Edward was very possessive towards Bella,” her friend said, “because he couldn’t bear the thought of any other man having designs on her, and it’s the exact same thing with Mr. H and you. That’s why he wants everyone to know you’re dating. Get it?”
Spencer started breathing again. Oh, thank God. For a moment there, she had really thought Kiernan had found out about Etienne’s true nature.
“Well?”
Spencer was startled to find Kiernan gazing at her with an expectant expression again. “Well, what?”
“Spence! Will you please concentrate?” her friend groaned with a shake of her head. “I already told you why Mr. H acted the way he did, so it’s your turn now. How are you going to make it up to him?”
Chapter Fourteen
“You’re telling me this is just…” Fuck. He couldn’t even say the word. It was just too damn preposterous, and he would have walked out of the room then and there if it hadn’t been Luka Georgiades himself that had made such a suggestion. Luka’s uncanny intelligence was a legend among their race, and even Etienne and the rest of the old bloods knew this. It was for that reason alone that he was willing to give the younger man the benefit of the doubt even if…
Etienne drew a sharp breath. “You’re fucking serious about this?”
“Completely.”
“Fuck.”
Indeed, Luka mused, having recalled the time he had first realized his feelings and how it tied with his weakness. “There is, of course, the slimmest possibility that your case is different than mine—”
“How slim?” Etienne interrupted right away. At this point, he was more than willing to grasp straws, since the other alternative was too complicated to even contemplate.
“About…” Luka paused for a few moments to make the necessary calculations. “.005.”
Etienne’s expression tightened. “In other words…I’m fucked.”
The way the old blood had chosen to describe his situation caused Luka’s lips to press together in a stern effort to contain his smile and avoid showing disrespect. Etienne’s next words, however, proved to be his undoing.
“Is there a cure—”
Luka laughed.
Etienne swore.
“For what it’s worth…” Luka’s tone was half-apologetic, half-amused. “There is no known cure, unless…you would rather turn into a vampire than stay fucked?”
Etienne’s mood remained black even after his meeting with Luka, and it turned even blacker when a glance at his watch revealed that it was already ten in the evening. Fuck. He called her right away while nodding his thanks as a valet handed him the keys to his sports car.
Half a day wasted on pointless sangferia experiments, he thought broodingly, when all he should have done was gone straight to the source and ask for the truth. Then again, if he had an inkling of what Luka would be revealing, maybe he would have foregone consulting the race’s future Advisor. Ignorance, in rare cases, was indeed bliss—
“Hello.” Spencer answered his call just after the second ring, and the tone of her voice was…odd.
“Is everything alright?” Etienne switched the call to loudspeaker as he took the wheel.
“It…depends?”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Do you know I have a Facebook account?”
“Obviously.” He even had to bribe the brat with a fucking Christmas bonus, just to get her to accept his request to become friends on the damn site.
“Well, you should check it first. Then call – no, come see me. At your place.”
Click.
Etienne stared at his phone in disbelief. What the hell? Did the brat just hang up on him?
Spencer scrolled doggedly through her newsfeed on Facebook while trying not to drive herself crazy by second-guessing Etienne’s next move. Just as Kiernan advised, she had done what she could to make it up to the billionaire, and as to what would happen afterwards…
An accidental tap on the screen brought her back to her profile and her most recent post, which was two weeks ago. She had shared a news article that suggested a positive correlation between a woman’s temper and intellect, and the first one to comment had been none other than Etienne himself.
Could be true, but you’re most likely the exception.
Spencer couldn’t help burst into laughter. What. A. Troll. And as she went through her older posts, she was surprised to realize that the billionaire had commented on all of them…