Page 74 of Love Bites Extra Hard

thirteen

AVERY

Talon wasout of the shower and catching my elbow to help me stay upright before I was even dressed. All I’d managed to put on was a pair of panties, and that had been so painful, my eyes were still stinging with the tears I was fighting.

“You’re crying,” he growled.

“No,” I said, but my voice was teary too.

“It hurts?”

“No.”

We both knew I was lying.

My sniffle didn’t help sell it.

I hadn’t even been able to bend far enough to pull a pair of pants out of the bottom drawer.

“Which sweats do you want?” He crouched down for me with that towel still around his waist, and held up two of my favorites.

I couldn’t let myself think about the fact that he knew they were my favorites. It would make me feel too many things I wasn’t ready to deal with.

“The black ones. Please.”

He stayed where he was, setting one of my hands on his shoulder for stability before he helped me into the sweats. When he did, he undid the bow I always left tied, just so the fabric wouldn’t irritate my healing skin.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

As angry with him as I was for keeping the truth from me, my gratitude was genuine. My injuries definitely weren’t his fault. I was the only one to blame for them. The fact that he was still there, helping me, said that he was serious about the mate thing.

He stood and grabbed the loose sweater I’d pulled off a hanger, then eased it over my head.

“I’m not going to be able to wear a bra. Or a bikini, when I swim with my sisters,” I said, eyeing him. “And their mates will be there.”

“Will the water help you heal?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll deal with it.” He helped me get my arms through, and pulled one of his hoodies off a hanger nearby.

“I don’t want to wear your clothes right now.”

“You don’t have any other option, Ave. I’ll buy you some warmer things while we’re in Mistwood.”

“I can order my own clothes.”

Or my sisters could, at least.

Clementine and Zora had picked out all of my clothes, to be honest. They knew what I liked and didn’t like, and loved shopping.

“You’ll be underwater,” he said.

Right.

But I didn’t want him to be in charge of that. I didn’t want him to be in charge of any part of my life. Not after he kept the truth from me for so long, and had already admitted that he wasn’t going to let me go back to Vamp Manor.

The castle still felt like home, but given everything that had happened, I didn’t want to stay and let him try to win me over again.

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