Page 50 of Tears of Revenge

Then Varos sat down—more elegantly—to her other side. “Do you enjoy Lysander’s company?”

She did, but admitting that felt wrong.

“I’m not asking you to make you feel bad for it. I genuinely want to know the answer. Do you enjoy Lysander like this?”

Fearfully, she nodded.

“If you’re happy, we’re happy.”

“Marcus is right.”

She pondered their words, drawing lazy shapes over Lysander’s stomach and enjoying the way he wiggled beneath her. She’d already been with them and enjoyed it, so why was she hesitating? Maybe it was because he’d never shown interest in her. She hadn’t been bothered about it before but now, she felt a little blindsided.

“Why were you always distant to me?” she finally asked.

Lysander sighed, but Marcus stole his answer. “Because he’s a dick.”

“Marcus, hush,” Varos scolded. “Let him explain.”

Marcus rolled his eyes but stayed silent.

“I didn’t want either of us to get hurt. I knew if I let you in and we became close, our secrets would be spilled, or you’d be hurt by my rejection once you’d come too close to me to hide what I am.”

“Thanks, you make us sound like assholes,” Marcus grumbled.

She kept her eyes on Lysander, but directed her next question to the other two. “Would you have told me about yourself? If you hadn’t found me almost dead?”

There was a heavy silence before Varos answered. “No.”

She’d suspected as much, but hearing it out loud hurt. She’d enjoyed their company and couldn’t help but feel like they’d wanted more from her. She’d allowed herself to fall for them, one stolen kiss at a time. Hearing that they’d never intended to keep her felt awful.

“You are upset,” Varos stated, though there wasn’t a hint of the judgement she experienced with Troy. “You are allowed to be.”

“I was falling for you, and you would’ve left me.”

Varos sighed, trailing his hand over her thigh. “We never intended to hurt you. We wanted to see how you were doing and once we laid eyes on you, you had us under your spell.”

“It wasn’t your fault. It was our responsibility to set clear boundaries,” Marcus added. “It was our weakness. We wouldn’t have simply left you, but made sure you were taken care of before we ended things.”

“Like money would have changed anything,” she muttered.

“You would’ve still been hurt, but it may have made your life a little easier.”

She turned her head, looking at Marcus—and she couldn’t be upset with him anymore. She was with them. Though she was still put off by the creature she’d been turned into, she had to admit it felt good to be with them. They cared for her, they’d saved her life a second time. Maybe it wasn’t what she’d planned for herself, but she would have died without them—both times.

“It’s fine. I’m here with you now.”

“And we’ll be with you until you are sick and tired of us,” Marcus promised.

They fell silent, and Lysander gripped her waist while his head tipped back, eyes closed. Varos was still caressing her thigh while Marcus went to the kitchen and warmed more blood.

Just as he was about to sit down again, a car approached. She stiffened and looked at Varos—whose eyes sparkled.

Lysander’s eyes shot open, his high having gone out the window. “What did you do, Varos?”

“I ordered something.”

“You thought it was a good idea to have a human come within feet of her?” he growled.

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