It was almost an hour before Raven and Ismael Samar walked back into the main room. During that time, none of the other occupants of the room would talk to him, so Aidan seated himself in a corner and waited.

However, the only snatches of conversation that he overheard involved subjects of little interest, and Aidan's ire was growing steadily. Finally, the door to the room that Raven and Samar had disappeared behind opened.

When they walked out, Samar's arm was circled possessively around Raven's waist, and when he sat, he drew her down onto his lap. Raven's eyes, scanning the room as they were wont to do, met Aidan's. They flicked away as she leaned over to murmur into Samar's ear.

"Of course," Samar replied, loud enough for Aidan to hear. "I have rooms prepared."

Raven smiled, no more than an upward tilt of the corner of her mouth. "Of course you do."

Samar stood beneath her, and she slid easily off his lap. "Call your companion," he said to her, before striding towards a door adjacent to his own. Raven motioned to Aidan before turning and following him.

"'Call your companion'?" Aidan muttered incredulously under his breath. "He might as well have labeled me a dog," he added as he approached Raven, and received a sharp, flashing smile in return. 

Samar waited for them to draw near, before reaching out, unlocking, and pushing open the door that he stood in front of. He held an arm out in mocking chivalry, allowing Raven to walk through the doorway ahead of him. But then he paused, dropping his arm and looking back at Aidan.

"I can label you a dog next time, if you'd rather," Samar said with a bitingly facile smile that reminded Aidan of one of Raven's own, before he turned and walked through the doorway.

Aidan blinked, adding a new name to the seemingly-endless mental list of all of the dicks that he was unfortunate enough to know before stepping into the room himself.

Sunset-colored drapes of what looked like damask covered the walls. A spotless white bed dominated the room, with a wooden bureau in another corner, and a door that lead into what Aidan guessed was a restroom across from it.

"Well now, this is gorgeous. Did you furnish it?" Raven glanced to Samar.

"No, actually," he answered. "Francesca did."

"Whoever she is, she has good taste." Raven fingered the silk sheets of the king-sized bed, pulling herself up onto it. "Is this memory foam?"

A new figure entered the room, and Aidan turned to see big brown eyes, a petite feminine physique, and tight curly hair. A man who looked to be a year or two older than Aidan, and whose red hair and freckled skin stood in stark contrast to his companion's notably darker complexion, followed on her heels.

"Yes, it is," the girl said, in response to Raven's question. "I've also organized a room for your companion," she added. "I'm sure Sean will show him the way."

The man accompanying her--Sean, the girl had called him--turned and exited the room as silently as he had entered it. With a glance back at Raven, Aidan followed him. However, he didn't walk far; the room that Sean showed him to was the next one over.

If Raven's room was designed with comfort in mind, Aidan's was the exact opposite.  The small, twin-sized bed was nearly as hard as the ground, and the measly excuse for a dresser held only four drawers. In fact, even the room itself was tiny, probably a quarter of the size of Raven's.

"Samar certainly knows how to house his guests," Aidan muttered.

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A/N:

I am so, so looking forward to seeing how Aidan and Ismael clash in future chapters. It'll be delightful, both to write and (hopefully) to read. At least, it will, if you like that kind of thing. Well, if you've gotten this far, you must, because 99.9% of the story so far is the characters arguing with each other. I mean, that's obviously hyperbole, but the statistics aren't toooo far off. And it's so much fun, how can I resist? Although I promise that I'm trying to buckle down and actually get on with the storyline... what do you guys think? Is there too much banter and not enough actual plot? On the other hand, there are also people telling me that the story is moving too fast, so I'm not quite sure what to think. And oh dear, I'm rambling now, aren't I? I'll sign off now, with my usual 'vote if you liked it, and always feel free to comment or PM me with your feedback!' speech (but really, do vote, comment and/or PM me, because I love seeing reactions from you readers)! Ta, love you all ^^;