King's Sword

Snake's Pit

ADELAIDE

Boundaries. I have to establish boundaries with Vance. He is just a stranger I met yesterday and already he think he knows me better than I know myself.

I sit in the passenger seat with a book close to my face, reading but also not really understanding what I'm reading when the car stops and we're at a Starbucks drive through. I smile behind the pages as he orders me an iced caramel macchiato and one for himself.

At the window, I reach to grab my wallet from my bag but Vance is already paying for it when I turn back to him. Taking the drinks in exchange with an effortless smile and handing me one as he pulls out of the drive thru.

"Thanks." I whisper before taking a sip from my cold drink. He nods and drinks quietly. Now he's giving me the silent treatment. Great. "You work for me." I say, and I don't know where I'm goi g with this but it felt right to reminds us both.

"Well aware." He sighs and I nod. I drink, thinking of ways to get a rise out of him for some reason.

He can't mean what he said earlier, right? Humans want connection; we crave companionship. Even a cold hearted bastard like Vance had emotional wants.

Unless he's actually a psychopath.

I slide a suspicious glance his way and find him leaning back in his seat with his straw at his lips, hazel eyes fixed on the road. He doesn't seem like a psychopath -not that I've had much time around them- and he wouldn't do the nice things he does if he was.

Then there's the fact that he gets paid for said things.

"Everything alright, Tiger Lily?" Vance says with a smile and my stomach turns at his voice. I shoot him a serious look. "Oh come on, should I call you a different flower?"

"Yeah and while we're at it, your nickname can be Whiplash." I bite back in irritation, making him chuckle quietly.

"Seriously, what is it?" He asks with a faint smile. I shake my head dismissively. "Is this still about me saying that I don't care to know about who I fuck casually?" My cheeks become hot but I remain facing out the window. It's none of my business, if he wants to die alone he can go right ahead. In a year, he won't be my problem. "Would it help to know that I don't need to ask stupid fucking questions to know about someone?" I turn to him curiously as we arrive at the manor and park out front. Vance turns to me with boredom, waiting for my response.

"It's none of my business." I say and start gathering my things from my feet. Vance gets out of the car and does a light jog around the car to open my door. I shoot him a quick doubtful look but get out with my bags.

We walk towards the door when he speaks. "You write with a pen more often than not, even though you have a laptop." I frown up at him to my right and he smiles as he opens the door for me. He's right but he hasn't seen me do that. "Your right ring finger is calloused and you had ink on your palm when we met." That makes more sense.

"Okay I get it, you pay attention." I breathe out, a bit flustered by his keen-eye.

"I pay attention to you." Vance says and takes the bag of books from my hand with a pair of raised brows.

There's that pesky heavy silence that falls over is when our eyes focus on each other again. He winks and breaks away first, heading down to the library.

"What if I wanted those in my room?" I call after him and he shakes his head.

"Don't worry, I'll put your smut next to the couch by the fire." He says and walks into the room down the hall. I roll my eyes and rush upstairs to change.