The Story of Blood and Roses

"Don\'t glare at me," I tell him in a bland voice. His anger had spurred me on, as always. As did his playful side...

"If I lose, it\'s your fault," he grumbled as he cursed over some aspect of the game. After a few minutes of silence, the swearing became louder and crasser. The loud bang against his desk, let me know that he has lost for the third time today. I chuckled under my breath as I tried to concentrate on the book I was trying to read.

"Again?" I heard Sean say in an amused voice.

"Yes," I heard him hiss.

This went on for another fifteen minutes until he lost for the fourth time and grudgingly admitted defeat. It was a sweet moment.

He plopped down beside me and leaned in to give me a quick peck. A smile spread across my lips, but I ignored him from then on. The book was rather interesting and taking a turn for the better.

"It\'s a good thing... the calm."

"It could also be the calm before the storm." I cut in. I saw him give me a glance before he turned away.

"It could be, but what is life without a few tornadoes to bring it to the brink of extinction?"

"A happy life?" I replied sarcastically.

"A boring life."

"I think I like boring. I don\'t believe my poor heart can take any more excitement. That old one of yours surely can\'t." I snorted. I put my book down, realizing that I had no clue what I was reading.

"One day... you\'ll get old, too, and then we\'ll travel to the Himalayas and rid ourselves of our material desires."

"Celibacy would not suit you," I admitted.

"Neither you, my kitten." I shrugged. I didn\'t want to find that one out.

Sean cleared his throat, visibly embarrassed, but delighted to have caught us in a rare, romantic moment.

We loved the boy.

He was making great progress, taking online classes and developing his conventional computing skills. His theoretical knowledge of technology had increased ten folds over the time he started preparing for the education of the world.

As reluctant as Anthony was to let him go, he knew that the day would come soon. Sean had enough money to pull through college, and everyone knew that he had the brains to survive the world. What scared Anthony was that he was going to lose his star. He never failed to remind me how important the boy was to him.

Sometimes, I called him selfish.

Other times, I understood that he processed emotions in a different way. He valued people by their talent, and he held them close to his heart. Competency: that is what he looked for in people who surrounded him. And he was lucky to find it at every turn.

"Speaking of excitement and storms. We have to throw a huge party..."

"Poseidon?" I suggested. He gave me a brilliant smile.

"Yes. In Cienna\'s absence, you will be looking over every detail." I chuckled, shaking my head. "You are the lady of the house," he gave me a sly wink.

"Yes, kind sir, I will be a gracious host and take care of your business partners."

"Now, you will find all the important faces of the underworld present. They will have different needs that we should cater to. There will be a theme and a grand performance. It will be nothing short of excellent." He gave me a pointed look. "I can count on you. I know." The pride in his voice made the butterflies in my stomach go wild.

I gave him the sexiest smile I could muster.

"You\'d better give me a list before I start working," I warned him. "How long do I have?"

"A week," he informed, somewhat apologetically. "You can do it."

"I know."

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