Page 26 of House of Blood and Roses: Vol. 2

I frown. "Prince Lincoln?" I suppose it could be Marcus, but that would be even more unexpected than Linc coming to House Rothorne to visit me.

"Yes, My Lady."

"All right, I'll be right there," I promise.

She nods and disappears out of the door.

I shut my book and get to my feet, dusting off my dress in the hope of removing the creases from it. "How do I look?" I ask Pip, straightening up the bracelet where it's gotten caught on the cuff of my dress.

She opens one of her eyes lazily but doesn't move other than that.

"I'm going to have to take your word for it," I respond to her silence.

She lets out a fluff.

"I'll be back." I head out of my room and to the entrance hall of the House Rothorne apartments. A smile comes to my face as I see Linc is standing there waiting for me.

He turns, his attention landing on me and his whole face lighting up. "You're here," he says.

"I am. I wasn't expecting you," I say to Linc, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

"I was passing by and I thought I'd see if you were in and free to take Pip for a walk. It's dark outside."

"That sounds lovely. I should go get her." I check around to make sure none of my family members are lurking and step closer to him, pressing my lips against his and kissing him properly.

Linc's hand lands on the small of my back and he pulls me closer. It's hard to remember that we're in the middle of my family home and, as far as I know, everyone is in.

We break apart, and I find myself smiling at him.

"Maybe after our walk, we could..." I start to say, intending to suggest we head up to the library so that we can have some privacy.

"What are you doing here?"

I close my eyes and let out a frustrated groan at the sound of my brother's voice. I'm honestly not sure how he's going to respond to the fact I'm standing so close to Linc, and that's if he didn't see us kissing, but I can't imagine it's going to be good.

Linc clears his throat and steps away from me. "I came to visit Lady Beatrice."

Bastian narrows his eyes at Linc. "You're always around." His voice dips low and is surprisingly menacing. I don't think I've heard him like this in a very long time.

"I'm betrothed to Lady Beatrice," Linc responds, sounding like his usual calm self even in the face of my brother. "It's perfectly usual for the two of us to want to get to know one another before we're married."

Bastian's nostrils flare and I can see the anger building within him.

I worry my bottom lip, trying to work out the best way to diffuse the situation.

"You're more interested in my sister than you should be," Bastian says.

"Hey, don't I get to decide that?" I blurt out, unable to help myself.

Unfortunately, that brings Bastian's attention to me. "What?"

I clear my throat. "I get to decide whether Linc-Prince Lincoln's interest is an acceptable level or not," I say, knowing that Bastian has already caught my name slip just from the expression on his face.

He reaches out and grabs hold of my arm.

I let out a small squeak as his actions press my bracelet into my skin, but he doesn't loosen his hold, if anything, he tightens it.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Bastian almost growls.