BY FATE I CONQUER (Adaptation Book) || JIROSÈ ||

CHAPTER 16

"Momo," I said over my shoulder.

"We'll find it," Dad said.

Taehyung didn't slow, pulling me upstairs and into my room. My eyes fell on Bear who lay beside the bed. Taehyung had bound his leash to the bed post. His tail began wagging when he spotted me. I went over to him and rubbed his maw like he loved.

"If that thing ever as much as growls at you, I'll kill it, no matter what you say," Taehyung said, coming to a stop beside me. Bear stopped wagging and peered up at my brother but didn't react otherwise. Whatever Taehyung had done, had intimidated Bear for the time being.

"He would never do that," I said fiercely.

Taehyung looked into my eyes. "You put too much trust in dangerous creatures."

I raised my eyebrows, but his expression became wary and darker. "Jungkook told me you were locked in a cell with Hilton"

I rose to my feet and moved toward the bathroom. For some reason, I was reluctant to have this conversation with Taehyung. Maybe because Jungkook's words replayed in my head.

I didn't want to lie to my brother, but I knew I had to.

"Let me draw a bath and get in, then we can talk."

Taehyung stayed in my bedroom while I turned the water on and got undressed. I put a generous amount of bubble bath into the water until a thick layer of foam covered the water surface, then I slipped in, hissing as my skin began to prickle from the heat.

"Roseanne?"

"I'm fine. You can come in."

Taehyung slipped in and closed the door then he perched on the closed toilet lid, his body angled my way. He leaned his forearms on his thighs, his mouth briefly twitching in what looked like discomfort. I glanced at his bloody arm.

"You should have that treated."

"Tell me everything he said, everything he did. Don't leave anything out."

"He didn't do anything, Tae."

"Let me be the judge," he said with a hard undertone. "No offense, but you wouldn't know if he did something."

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not a stupid child."

"No, you aren't, but your kindness and innocence make you entirely unequipped to deal with someone like Jimin Hilton."

My brother rarely made me angry. Despite his harsh disposition and crude language, I never got mad at him. But now I could feel myself growing annoyed.

"And what exactly is he?"

Taehyung locked eyes with mine. "A hunter in more than one regard."

I tried to figure out what he meant but that was apparently enough to convince Taehyung of the truth of his words. "See, you don't even know what I mean."

It finally clicked. "You mean he pursues women?"

Taehyung laughed darkly.

I couldn't see what it mattered. "You do too."

"I'm not bound to marry."

My stomach clenched. "Marry?"

"This summer."

I hoped my face didn't give away how confused I was. Why had Jimin lied? He'd said he wasn't promised, but if he married so soon, he must be engaged. I wasn't sure why the idea made me upset. Jimin's relationship status shouldn't be my concern.

When I realized Taehyung was watching me, I said matter-of-factly, "Then you have even less reason to be worried. If he's in love, he'll hardly make any advances on me."

"Love," Taehyung scoffed. He shook his head and stared down at his injured arm as if he considered cutting it off. He began loosening the leather cuff with more force than was required. "He doesn't love her. It's an arranged marriage."

I was still mulling over Jimin's lie, which was probably why I forgot to lie at Taehyung's next question.

"So he kept his distance?"

"He gave me his shirt so I wouldn't freeze."

Taehyung shoved to his feet and ripped the leather cuff off where it had been stuck to the bite wound. A piece of skin came off as well but Taehyung didn't seem to care. Fresh blood dropped from the wound and onto my floor. "Oh, did he now?" Taehyung asked, baring his teeth. He stared at me as if he wanted to shake some sense into me then he turned on his heel and stalked toward the door, leaving a trail of blood on his way.

"I don't care what Dad says, I'll kill him. We don't need peace."

"Tae." He grabbed the door handle but stopped at my voice. I leaned over the edge of the bathtub, holding onto it. "TAEHYUNG!"

He turned to me, frenzy in his eyes.

"Don't, okay? He helped me. I was really cold. I asked him for his shirt. He didn't suggest it."

Taehyung breathed harshly but eventually he came back over to me and sank down on the lid. "Rosen, you need to stop being so naïve. You can't ask someone who isn't a Camorrista for something like that. Our soldiers fear us but Jimin..." His lips thinned again, the fury returning to his eyes.

"I'm fine, okay? I'm well protected, you know that." I reached out and tapped the skin of his left hand. "Now please let Antonio take a look at this before it gets infected."

His eyes followed me down to his forearm as if he had forgotten about the bite wound. It looked nasty so I didn't know how he could. He took a deep breath. "Okay. But this discussion isn't over."

I gave him a patient smile. "I need to get dressed and find Momo."

Taehyung rose to his feet. "I'll look for that thing."

He left. I didn't tell him that Momo would never let Taehyung catch him. Most animals avoided Taehyung. There was something too erratic, too frenzied about him. With a sigh, I got up, my body nicely warmed up. My mind drifted back to Jimin and the warmth in my body intensified. I stared at my reflection in the mirror above the sink. I had never wondered what other people thought of my body, but I did now, wondering what Jimin had seen when he'd looked at me.

Why? Why did I care? I liked my body. Jimin's thoughts about it shouldn't matter. But then I remembered the flushed sensation that had overcome me when Amo had removed his shirt, which came unexpectedly. It wasn't as if I'd never seen a naked chest. The men in my family ran around shirtless all the time when they worked out, headed to fight training or went into the pool. They too were fit to an extent that required a daily workout regime.

But Jimin...

I shook my head. I didn't understand any of this. I'd never been attracted to someone before. I didn't have much contact with people outside of my family but I'd also never had a crush on a celebrity or anyone else I'd met in passing. I was attracted to Jimin. My body's reaction pointed toward this conclusion.

And thinking about his strong chest and brown hazel eyes, I felt the novel desire to touch myself, my breasts and lower. Again something I'd never done because I simply hadn't felt the desire to do it. I regarded my small breasts, half covered with foam then dipped lower to the apex of my thighs where I felt the warmest. I reached for my sex, my fingertips brushing my pubic hair.

A knock sounded, making me draw back.

"Can I come in?"

It was Vivi.

"One sec," I called and quickly got out of the bathtub and put a fluffy bathrobe on. I opened the door to find Vivi standing right in front of it, glancing worriedly at Bear. "Is he all right?"

That's what I liked about her. "I think so. I think Taehyung smacked him over the head. I'll keep an eye on him."

She nodded then her kind brown eyes settled on me. Yeonjun had the same eye color and yet few people would probably notice, because the look in his was rarely kind and thus made them appear different. "Your father asked me to talk to you," she said carefully.