Page 61 of Tears of Revenge
“You’re not ungrateful and you’re not bad company either.”
“I am moody though.”
“So, what does that make me?”
“Dark and broody? Every girl’s dream in a romance novel?”
He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Well, then that would make you gorgeous.” That made her smile. “Now how about you check on the water?”
Avalon moved to slide off the counter, then paused. “When I was still…” She paused visibly struggling to say human. “Varos and Marcus always felt cold. Not icy but their skin was cooler. Does that bother you?”
“No, I actually welcome it. Lycans aren’t just hot heads—they run warm just like vampires run cold. When I was trying to control him, I sought out the cold because he couldn’t stand it. The dungeons where we held prisoners were ice cold.”
“But doesn’t Eastern Europe have cold winters?”
“Yes, which is why there was always a fireplace in every room—even rarely used ones.”
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with me.”
“I’m not.”
Avalon hopped down, stripping off the hoodie and stepping into the shower. Lysander paused long enough to admire her every curve, the swells of her hips and the fullness of her stomach. He took a breath to bring himself back down to earth, then dropped his pants. Sex was supposed to be the last thing on his mind. He wanted this to be more intimate for her. Though he’d expected hot water, he hissed and jumped out of the spray—it was boiling.
Avalon immediately went for the tap. “I’m so sorry.” She brushed her cool palm over the burn to soothe it. “Did it burn you? I didn’t realise it was so hot.”
“I’m fine.”
Though Avalon needed to determine that for herself, carefully inspecting his arm. “I didn’t know I was so insensitive to heat.”
He kissed her head, guiding her beneath the much cooler spray. “Baby steps.” Avalon relaxed into the water while he lathered his fingers and worked shampoo into her hair. “Now tell me, have reading and painting always been hobbies of yours?”
“I always had my nose in a book as a kid, but not as much when I was with Troy. He didn’t approve of them.”
“Was it the same with painting?”
“After mom died, someone recommended that I paint to help me cope. That’s when it started.”
“But that too ended when you were with Troy?”
“He tolerated it. I guess it was the lesser of two evils.”
“A well-read woman is a dangerous one.”
“I’m not sure that’s true with the books I read,” she laughed and turned her back to him again.
“Romance, no matter how fictional it might be, could’ve shown you what he was doing to you. Maybe even given you ideas on how to escape.”
“That should’ve been my first red flag, huh?” He opened his mouth to dispel that thought, but she continued. “I did see them, you know? Some of them. But I think I just wanted… someone. I thought no one was perfect. Every partner has something they don’t like about the other, so I looked past them. When things were good, they were really good. He held the doors open for me, never made me reach for my wallet. I always got good morning messages and he even surprised me at work. I had blinders on. The control happened slower. The first time he hit me, he was drunk. I wanted to believe he hadn’t meant it.”
“He didn’t want you to see.” He tipped Avalon’s head back to rinse her hair, then lathered his hands up with body wash.
“Varos and Marcus said the same.”
“What are our things? The things you dislike?”
Avalon turned to look at him over her shoulder, the question seeming to have caught her off guard. “What?”
“You said you believed that every couple has something one overlooks about the other, that not everyone is a perfect match.”