Page 6 of Reaper's Quest

“There’s nothing to tell. Besides”?I turned to fully face him?“your parents are just asaccomplishedas mine, andyourdadthinks I cheated. Shouldn’t that be enough for you?”

“Seriously?” He arched his eyebrows as he shifted his weight deeper into the shared armrest. “Mydadis a fool, as is yours, continuing a generations-old feud simply because, why…?” He thrust his arm across my lap as if to present evidence only visible with the mind’s eye. “My great-great-grandfather did something to your great-great-grandfather, and your great-great-grandfather retaliated. The notion is petty and—dare I say—stupid.” He dipped his head and shook it. “I’m rather tired of the utter ridiculousness of it all. You should be, too.”

A tiny gasp fought to break free from my throat, only I held it captive, unwilling to display any sense of surprise in front of him…a Badden.

Questioning the feud, my father, or even my loathing for Chace wasn’t a contemplable concept, given my family dynamics and conditioning. I had learned to accept the situation as it stood.

After all, he had shoved me into a shark tank during a reaping lesson at an aquarium. That act surely cemented his commitment to the continued rivalry. He’d professed the incident had been an accident—an excuse I had refused to buy. As they say, like father like son, and as I understood things, his father was a real piece of work. Plus, Chace’s friends had snickered a tad too hard at my predicament.

After that, how could I feel anything other than disdain for the guy?

I averted my gaze, unable to continue looking at him, because… Well, just because.

Rubbing my damaged palm became my anchor—thestone holding my emotions from reaching my expression.Only the constant motion of my massage worked against me, drawing his attention.

He grabbed my arm and yanked my hand close, exposing my bruised palm.

“That doesn’t exactly look like nothing.” He coasted his thumb across my maimed skin, causing me to jerk. His gaze narrowed. “You’re holding back. What really happened?”

“Nothing.” I tugged my hand free and hugged it to my chest. “Just leave me alone.”

“If only it were that simple, but I can’t just leave you alone.” His attention flittered over me before returning to my palm. A touch of curiosity and concern etched across the edges of his features. “So, fess up and tell everyone what really happened.” He dragged the edge of his lower lip between his teeth. “Or just tell me.”

My attention momentarily fixed on his mouth. His teeth dragging over his lower lip… Those mouthwatering, expressive lips.

Oh, reap me twice over. What was I doing?

I shook my thoughts straight and crossed my arms.

I could be wrong, but I thought his grin kicked up a notch.

Go away go away go away.

Mentally wishing him out of sight played on repeat in my head. If only I wielded the power to bring such magic to fruition.

“Come on, Raven.” He lightly punched my upper arm. “Help me out.”

Was he seriously asking me to help him improve his reaping skills? He didn’t need help. He already ranked goodon the required task skills—great, even. Probably one of the best and he knew it. Clearly relished the fact.

So, no, he wasn’t seeking help. Within his probe, I detected a plea to trap me in a situation he could exploit, or…possibly gain my assistance in irritating our fathers?Two things I had no intention of doing.

“Stop it.” I pulled away from him.

My blood fizzed, turned to a boil, and warmed my skin to excess.

A wild smirk stretched his mouth, planting a sparkle in his eyes. “Success doesn’t come from quitting. And I’mneverquitting.”

“It was a blunder. Okay?” I stiffened at my unexpected admission, and I pressed my arms against the armrest with the force of an iron rod. “Now leave me alone. You have no right to touch me, and you stink.”

The second part was a lie. He, in fact, smelled rather dreamy, but maybe planting the mere thought in his head would encourage him to keep his distance. Move to a different seat.

“First of all,sorry. And second”?he raised his hands apologetically, even as he covertly tilted his nose into his shoulder and took a whiff. He snapped straight, slapping his hand to his chest, and dropped his mouth agape, popping his eyes a little too wide?“ouch.”

I fought a smile struggling to break free at his absurd acting job and clear willingness to play along, not argue the state of his bodily aroma.

“But you know,” he continued, “I suspect something was up with your collection yesterday. What exactly went down?”

“For the love of all demons, leave me the devil alone.” No longer feeling the urge to smile, I curled my hand into a tight fist.