Page 125 of Reign

Her chin lifts. “I don’t want to reconsider.”

“I want to try everything I marked curious,” she says. “With you.”

“Good.”

The praise catches her before she can defend against it. Her lashes lower, and another breath slips between her parted lips.

A second later, she straightens her shoulders as if the reaction can be packed away and ignored.

“And while I learn, you’ll make my list.”

The woman is relentless.

I can already hear the question following every lesson. Where’s my list, Luciano?

The argument is going to become one of my favorite parts of training.

“I’ll consider names while you learn.”

“Consider them or write them down?”

“The first generally precedes the second.”

“That wasn’t an answer.”

She’s already using my own words against me.

“I’ll make the list,” I say.

“A real one?”

“No, princesa. An imaginary list written in invisible ink.”

Her nose crinkles. “You’re irritating.”

“You’ve mentioned that.”

“Because you keep proving it.”

“You’ll decide when you’re ready to consider the men on it,” I say. “I’ll decide which men deserve my recommendation.”

“I can reject them?”

“Any of them.”

“I might reject all of them.”

“I suspect you will.”

“You don’t know that.”

I know every man I’ve considered has already managed to piss me off simply by being an option.

“We’ll see.”

She takes a slow breath. “Fine.”

“Good,” I say. “Then we start with rules.”