All I’ve Never Wanted(23)

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"Eat."



I stared suspiciously at the admittedly delicious-looking slice of chocolate cake in front of me but made no move to touch it.



"No," I said, rather stubbornly. I knew I was being difficult, but can you blame me? The spawn of Satan decided to kidnap me after school, bring me to his house, mock me, and he was now…feeding me chocolate cake? Hmmm, now which one of those does not fit in with the others?



Roman narrowed his eyes at me from across the tile counter. "It's not poisoned, you know."



I sniffed disbelievingly. I had no way of knowing whether or not it really was poisoned—I wouldn't put it past him. Besides, even if it wasn't, I in no way wanted to ingest something that was even remotely associated with the name Fiori.



"Why don't you just cut to the chase and explain to me why I'm here," I snapped, shifting on the stool I was currently perched on.



A part of me was aware how ridiculous this scene was, me and Roman Fiori, chatting over cake in his obscenely huge kitchen.



Well, we weren't really chatting, but you get the idea.



"If you're not going to eat the cake, then I will," Roman said, ignoring my request. Without waiting for an answer, he slid the plate back over to his side and spooned a creamy chocolate chunk into his mouth.



I swallowed as my mouth involuntarily watered. Damn it…To make matters worse, my stomach chose just that moment to let out a loud, hungry growl, like it was scolding me for only feeding it a sandwich and some water today.



Roman smirked, but didn't offer me the cake again. Bastard.



Not that I would've changed my mind and accepted the offer, of course.



I glared at him. "I know you have an ulterior motive for bringing me here, so you might as well just spit it out." My fingers tightened on the edge of the table. "Do you have a mob waiting to finish me off once and for all?”



"Please," Roman scoffed. "Like I need a mob to finish you off."



"Right. So it's not like your twisted plan to run me out of school hadn't failed or anything," I retorted sweetly. I almost flinched when the words left my mouth. I was playing with fire here, but I couldn't help it. There was something about him that just makes me blurt things out without thinking.



Roman's suspiciously (and unusually) calm demeanor cracked a bit and I could see anger flare up in that chiseled face of his again.



Such a shame, really, that someone so good-looking could be such a monster…



Wait, what the heck? Why was I even thinking that? I should not be focusing on his looks right now! It’s not like I was one of his mindless groupies.



Get it together, Lindberg.



"The game isn't over yet," he snarled, before getting a hold of himself. Calming down once again, he eyed me speculatively. "But since you want to know so bad, I brought you here to offer you a means of surrender."



"A means of surrender…" I repeated slowly. This was going to be good.



"Yes." Roman straightened up and studied me the way a lab assistant would study a research subject under a microscope. "If you surrender and publicly apologize for the rude way you spoke to me at the party, promising to stay out of my way and never cross me again, I will see to it that all the…inconveniences you've been experiencing lately will cease."



"Inconveniences."



"Yes. As long as you agree to the terms I just stated."



"The terms you just stated."



Roman shot me an exasperated look. "Did a parrot fly in here while I wasn't looking and take over brain?" he growled, his temper back in full force.



He was clearly bipolar.



I smiled sweetly. "Of course not," I cooed, feeling a flash of satisfaction at the surprise that leapt up in his eyes at my tone of voice. "Don't be silly." I stepped closer. "Even I have to admit your offer is so generous there's only one thing I can say…SCREW YOU!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, nearly shaking from the intensity of the fury I felt inside. I emphasized my statement with a loud slap across his face. I swear the sound echoed in the huge room.



I only had a moment to revel in the absolute shock that crossed his face—now marred by a bright red handprint on his left cheek—before I regained my senses, took advantage of his temporary immobility, and hauled ass out of there.

* * *

She had slapped him. Slapped him. Him. Roman Fiori. Sole heir to a fortune so vast it probably couldn't even be translated into hard cash because there weren't enough hundred dollar bills in existence. The leader of the Scions. Ranked as the #1 billionaire heir under the age of 25 by a leading global business magazine. The most powerful teenager in Valesca.