The Story of Blood and Roses

I was bewildered by his actions.

"Anthony?" I heard someone call from the door. Anthony just waved the person in. The man who entered was tall, burly, and had black spiky hair.

"Scott, please join me." He gestured to the chair in front of him. Scott turned to me with a serious look in his eyes and looked me over once.

Anthony too was staring at me, and his look held excitement. I mulled over the option carefully, I wondered if he liked what he saw. From the hint of amusement I found in his eyes, I had a feeling that he wasn\'t going to go easy on me in this little \'interview\'.

"I like your spirit, but if you want to work in this industry, you need to turn it down a notch."

The graveness of his voice stunned me, if only for a fraction of a second. He did mean business. While his playful side was irritating, this gruff and businesslike attitude was something I preferred. He was easier to predict in this mode.

"Now tell me what you\'re good at."

"Everything." I couldn\'t help but smirk. I could do everything that he could. Maybe not better, but surely not far behind his level. I had prepared myself for it my whole life.

He reached to his waist and pulled out his gun and threw it towards me. I caught it without exerting much effort. I just gave him a confused look.

"Dismantle it," he ordered.

\'Dismantle it? Has he lost his mind?\'

"You\'re not good at taking orders, are you?" he snorted. "I said, \'dismantle it\'."

I furrowed my eyes together but didn\'t question him as I dismantled the gun piece by piece.

"Good. Now, put it back together."

I leaned forward to take the trigger and he stopped me.

"Wait. I want to time you. I\'ll give you thirty seconds to put it back together. Scott here will shoot you if you take longer." His voice was filled with authority. I shuddered in excitement.

\'What is he playing at?\'

I roved through the parts and realized the problem. There was a part missing.

"Bastard," I hissed under my breath as I took out my own gun and pointed it at Scott.

Both the men looked shocked at my reaction.

"You didn\'t finish the task. You pulled your gun out, instead. Should I ask Scott to pull the trigger?" His threat made no difference to me. I wasn\'t scared of him. I held the gun at Scott\'s head, knowing full well that I had passed the test. I had overcome the challenge. It didn\'t matter if I put the gun together. What mattered was my reaction.

"I don\'t have time for your stupid games, Anthony."

"But this was supposed to be a lesson, darling. You should be vigilant at all times." His tone was almost taunting. "I\'m impressed that you caught my little trick and had the balls to point your gun at him. I like to be prepared for the worst and I am glad that you feel the same way."

He walked straight to me and handed me the bullet.

"Nice work," he whispered into my ears. My eyes narrowed at him and he burst into laughter.

"You can leave now, Scott." His voice was friendly again. "Are you good at combat?" he asked after some time of silence. I fidgeted under his scrutiny but nodded.

"Isn\'t it a bit too hot in here?" He tugged at his shirt and opened it.

\'What the—\'

I tried not to ogle, and at last, looked towards the ground. This man was twelve or so years older than me and certainly no movie star that I could form an immature crush on. I wasn\'t so weak.

"You should take off that jacket, you know," he said with amusement.

I didn\'t flinch back as he touched my shoulder and tried to open the first button. I slapped his hand away. Swearing under my breath, I jumped away from him when he tried to come near again.

\'What a jackass!\' I thought to myself as I got hold of his misbehaving hand and strategically twisted it so that I was pressed against his back, and his hand was locked behind his back in my tight grip. He laughed, impressed by my little show.

Before I understood what hit me, I twirled around and flinched as he grabbed my hand and locked it behind me.

\'Son of a bitch.\'

He put one leg between mine and twined it so that my right leg was locked, too.

I groaned in humiliation. The pain was there, but not as much as I had imagined.

He was holding back on me. But I could feel him pressed up against me. It wasn\'t a pretty thought, but I did wriggle around a bit.

\'Mayday! Mayday! We need help here!\'

I was freaking out. There was nothing to be freaked out about. He was a guy and guys were horny all the time. Nothing to panic about!

\'Maybe he is a huge pervert.\'

\'You know he is!\'

\'So shouldn\'t you run?\'

\'He killed my mother.\'

\'That, too.\'

My inner conflict had died down, but the chant continued desperately.

\'Kill him.\'

That was when I felt something press up against my neck. The cold, hard surface made me stiffen. I shouldn\'t have had such an elaborate reaction, but his closeness made it hard for me not to feel fear. He was definitely an intimidating creature. And it was not only his personality that scared me but something deep in me moved, looking at his pretty face did weird things to me. He was good looking after all, and lust was natural. But entangling myself with him would be a pity.

He moved our body together, as if to some unheard music, but I saw what he was doing.

There was a huge glass window that reflected our image. He had pressed his lips to my hair and slightly brushed the strands away from my face. I shivered at the sight. I heard him chuckle at my expense.

Anthony let go of me abruptly, leaving me in a trance.

I heard the squeaking sound of leather. He was sitting in his damn chair and smirking at me.

He pulled out his cell phone again and dialed without haste. He spoke quickly into the phone and then looked up to grin at me.

"I will be seeing you soon, Mia." He bowed his head and a devious smile followed.

\'He sure smiles a lot. Damn him!\'

I raised an eyebrow, not trusting my voice to come out properly. He laughed and just waved his hand, dismissing me.

"Pervert," I muttered under my breath. He seemed to have heard it.

"My feisty kitten," he said in an amused voice. I stiffened.

\'Had he recognized me? No, that couldn\'t be!\'

I was sure he was trying to make me angry. He was succeeding, and I hated him for that.

I stomped out of his office and as soon as I entered the common room, it seemed to burst with excitement. There were catcalls and whistles. There were conspiratorial whispers and then there were simple smiles.

The same woman from before came in and extended her hand towards me.

"Cienna," she said in a clipped voice.

This was clearly meant to be a warning for me. I was getting close to her territory and like the possessive lioness she was, she wouldn\'t sit by and watch her things get swept away from her. She possibly couldn\'t stand the thought that her reign might come to an end because of a new addition.

"Mia."

"Welcome to ground zero. You\'d better be prepared for what\'s coming at you, we don\'t want some amateur to ruin our hard work." She drew closer to me and leaned in to whisper in my ear. She wasn\'t the least bit intimidating, and it was funny that she was trying so hard. "And stay away from my man."

I think I chuckled because she was seething.

\'I know, darling. I have that effect on people.\'

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