o_18vdqvms01tdp1ck54q91frg17mg2d.pdf
"And you think I'm trouble," I muttered. The Ivashkovs were a royal family, one of the wealthiest and most powerful. They were the kind of people who thought they could get anything they wanted and walked over those in their way. No wonder he was so arrogant. He laughed. He had a nice laugh, rich and almost melodious. It made me think of warm caramel, dripping from a spoon. "Handy, huh? Each of our reputations precedes us." I shook my head. "You don't know anything about me. And I only know of your family. I don't know anything about you." "Want to?" he asked tauntingly. "Sorry. I'm not into older guys." "I'm twenty-one. Not that much older." "I have a boyfriend." It was a small lie. Mason certainly wasn't my boyfriend yet, but I hoped Adrian would leave me alone if he thought I was taken. "Funny you didn't mention that right away," Adrian mused. "He didn't give you that black eye, did he?" I felt myself blushing, even in the cold. I'd been hoping he wouldn't notice the eye, which was stupid. With his vampire eyes, he'd probably noticed as soon as I stepped onto the porch. "He wouldn't be alive if he did. I got it during … practice. I mean, I'm training to be a guardian. Our classes are always rough." "That's pretty hot," he said. He dropped this second cigarette to the ground and put it out with his foot. "Punching me in the eye?" "Well, no. Of course not. I meant that the idea of getting rough with you is hot. I'm a big fan of full-contact sports." "I'm sure you are," I said dryly. He was arrogant and presumptuous, yet I still couldn't quite force myself to leave.
The sound of footsteps behind me made me turn. Mia came around the path and walked up the steps. When she saw us, she stopped suddenly. "Hey, Mia." She glanced between the two of us. "Another guy?" she asked. From her tone, you would have thought I had my own harem of men. Adrian gave me a questioning, amused look. I gritted my teeth and decided not to dignify that with a response. I opted for uncharacteristic politeness. "Mia, this is Adrian Ivashkov." Adrian turned on the same charm he'd used on me. He shook her hand. "Always a pleasure to meet a friend of Rose's, especially a pretty one." He spoke like he and I had known each other since childhood. "We aren't friends," I said. So much for politeness. "Rose only hangs out with guys and psychopaths," said Mia. Her voice carried the usual scorn she harbored for me, but there was a look on her face that showed Adrian had clearly caught her interest. "Well," he said cheerfully, "since I'm both a psychopath and a guy, that would explain why we're such good friends." "You and I aren't friends either," I told him. He laughed. "Always playing hard to get, huh?" "She's not that hard to get," said Mia, clearly upset that Adrian was paying more attention to me. "Just ask half the guys at our school." "Yeah," I retorted, "and you can ask the other half about Mia. If you can do a favor for her, she'll do lots of favors for you." When she'd declared war on Lissa and me, Mia had managed to
- Page 56 and 57: "Hard to say," I said. Tasha crooke
- Page 58 and 59: "Me too," said Lissa. "Maybe we cou
- Page 60 and 61: "Russian's weird," In Russian, the
- Page 62 and 63: He'd technically been up all of the
- Page 64 and 65: women often had short-term affairs
- Page 66 and 67: make sure she doesn't have a concus
- Page 68 and 69: SEVEN I ANGRILY PUSHED THROUGH THE
- Page 70 and 71: Mia saw my hesitation, and it was l
- Page 72 and 73: "Whatever. I can tell when you're l
- Page 74 and 75: Before I could open my mouth, I fel
- Page 76 and 77: had been a long time since I'd kiss
- Page 78 and 79: EIGHT CHRISTIAN WAS KISSING HER, AN
- Page 80 and 81: "The truth, huh? No one wants to he
- Page 82 and 83: He rolled his eyes, still smiling.
- Page 84 and 85: "Look at me," he ordered. "Dimitri
- Page 86 and 87: shouting. "I swear, sometimes it's
- Page 88 and 89: NINE I DIDN'T SEE DIMITRI FOR a whi
- Page 90 and 91: Christian were chatting on in their
- Page 92 and 93: I honestly couldn't believe we were
- Page 94 and 95: "Good." She opened her mouth, and I
- Page 96 and 97: "I'm really tired," I repeated. I c
- Page 98 and 99: TEN THE SKI TRIP COULDN'T HAVE come
- Page 100 and 101: Inside, all sorts of arrangements h
- Page 102 and 103: "Ah," he said triumphantly. "She fi
- Page 104 and 105: leather dress shoes he wore indicat
- Page 108 and 109: get a couple of guys to tell everyo
- Page 110 and 111: ELEVEN LISSA WAS UP AND GONE before
- Page 112 and 113: Even I wouldn't want her face burne
- Page 114 and 115: I looked between both their faces.
- Page 116 and 117: could look up and see the stars spi
- Page 118 and 119: Adrian leaned against the porch's r
- Page 120 and 121: TWELVE I WAS OUT OF BED in a flash.
- Page 122 and 123: My mother flipped through some pape
- Page 124 and 125: I moved in front of her and placed
- Page 126 and 127: was one of the ruling Moroi, and as
- Page 128 and 129: was pulled back into a ponytail, co
- Page 130 and 131: Tasha shrugged. "If that's what it
- Page 132 and 133: "I have my sources." Somehow, sayin
- Page 134 and 135: I remembered Adrian's arm was still
- Page 136 and 137: I looked at Mason questioningly. It
- Page 138 and 139: attle strategies. The fact that she
- Page 140 and 141: FOURTEEN TWO GUYS I'D NEVER MET bef
- Page 142 and 143: The guy clenched his fists and look
- Page 144 and 145: "My boyfriend," I said. "Sort of."
- Page 146 and 147: "Hey yourself, cousin," he returned
- Page 148 and 149: "It's okay," he said. "I have a goo
- Page 150 and 151: "I'm just telling you the truth." "
- Page 152 and 153: FIFTEEN I WAS TRYING TO PAINT my to
- Page 154 and 155: "I'm returning these." I hoisted th
"And you think I'm trouble," I muttered. The Ivashkovs were a royal family, one of the<br />
wealthiest and most powerful. They were the kind of people who thought they could get<br />
anything they wanted and walked over those in their way. No wonder he was so arrogant.<br />
He laughed. He had a nice laugh, rich and almost melodious. It made me think of warm<br />
caramel, dripping from a spoon. "Handy, huh? Each of our reputations precedes us."<br />
I shook my head. "You don't know anything about me. And I only know of your family. I don't<br />
know anything about you."<br />
"Want to?" he asked tauntingly.<br />
"Sorry. I'm not into older guys."<br />
"I'm twenty-one. Not that much older."<br />
"I have a boyfriend." It was a small lie. Mason certainly wasn't my boyfriend yet, but I hoped<br />
Adrian would leave me alone if he thought I was taken.<br />
"Funny you didn't mention that right away," Adrian mused. "He didn't give you that black eye,<br />
did he?"<br />
I felt myself blushing, even in the cold. I'd been hoping he wouldn't notice the eye, which was<br />
stupid. With his vampire eyes, he'd probably noticed as soon as I stepped onto the porch.<br />
"He wouldn't be alive if he did. I got it during … practice. I mean, I'm training to be a guardian.<br />
Our classes are always rough."<br />
"That's pretty hot," he said. He dropped this second cigarette to the ground and put it out with<br />
his foot.<br />
"Punching me in the eye?"<br />
"Well, no. Of course not. I meant that the idea of getting rough with you is hot. I'm a big fan of<br />
full-contact sports."<br />
"I'm sure you are," I said dryly. He was arrogant and presumptuous, yet I still couldn't quite<br />
force myself to leave.
Change language