Page 62 of Tears of Revenge

Her nose wrinkled as she mulled over his words. “I haven’t thought about that.”

“We don’t do anything that annoys you?”

“I’m far too annoyed with myself to worry about anyone else,” she laughed.

Lysander worked over her back, fingers kneading the knots in her muscles. “Give us time, I’m sure we have plenty to give.”

Avalon giggled. “I’ve noticed.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” he frowned, cheeks heating. “It’s not all about sex.”

“No, you all have redeeming qualities.” Avalon shook, trying to contain her laughter. “I mean you all taste very good.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I massage you too?”

“Of course.” He pressed a kiss to each shoulder, then knelt in front of her.

“Thank you. You are quite tall.” Her hands felt good. Though they were small, she had the strength to give him the right amount of pressure. “The other night, when you passed out, I had to dress you and got a bit rough. I didn’t mean to but you are so big I thought I’d struggle but I underestimated my strength. I flung you around like a doll.”

The mental image made him burst into laughter. “I would have loved to see that.”

“I was so worried I hurt you!”

“I think it is very kind of you to tell me. I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

“Just something I wanted to get off my chest.”

“Rest assured, I was not injured. I’m only upset that I didn’t get to see it for myself.”

They rinsed off and he stood back as Avalon dried her hair and wrapped it in a second towel before getting dressed.

“If you don’t like the clothes I bought you, we can always get you others,” he offered, pulling up his own jeans.

“So, you want me to wear a thousand-dollar outfit for gardening?” she asked, crooking her eyebrow at him. “And if you say money is no object again, I will add that to the list of things that annoy me, because we are not wasting money like that.”

“Yes, ma’am.” That made her grin at him. “May I braid your hair?”

“Smooth.” Still she held out her brush and some hair ties while standing before the mirror.

He settled behind her and got to work. It had been over a hundred years since he’d braided someone’s hair, but Avalon was more than patient. Eventually, he found his rhythm, falling into a trance of twisting the strands over each other while Avalon relaxed against his chest.

Twenty-Two

Avalon

She loved watching Lysander braid her hair. He probably didn’t know it, but he had the most adorable face when he was focusing hard. The tip of his tongue poked out from between his lips, his nose scrunched and his brows furrowed. Once he deemed the braid appropriate, he handed her a small mirror to check for herself.

“I love it. Thank you.”

He blushed a precious cherry red, ducking out of her gaze to collect their towels. “Let me throw these in the washer and then I can grab everything from the car.”

Though when they entered the living room, the patio doors were wide open and all of the gardening supplies had been set out. While Varos handed her a glass of blood, Marcus read through the pamphlet attached to the rose bushes.

“Seems mildly simple,” Marcus announced as she sipped her blood and welcomed the soothing feeling sliding down her throat.

“The woman at the garden centre said these kinds of roses aren’t too delicate, that they’re good for beginners.”