Page 98 of How to Seduce a Slender

“And you’re not angry?” Smith eyed his Lich.

“I’mnotangry,” Sebastian chuckled suspiciously calmly as he held the brain eater a lot for Smith to see better.

“That’s a brain eater, sir.”

“A…brain…”—Sebastian smashed the eldritch parasite into smithereens between his gloves. Pieces of it hissed as it crumbled, burning into ash before it even touched the runner. Sebastian dusted off his gloves—“…eater. May this be a lesson to you, my boy, about properly sourcing materials. The last thing we need is to introduce more eldritch parasites into this house. Now, if you will please take my specimen back down to the lab where it belongs and excuse me. Dahlia…may I borrow you for a moment?”

Smith watched Sebastian remove his gloves, tuck them away in his vest, and take Lady Rosemont’s hand shortly before leading her up the stairs.

“Where’s he going?” Melody jabbed a thumb at the stairs.

The whole staff eyed her before scrambling back into motion. Smith flitted across the runner, giving Austin the space to scoop up the corpse in the hall. He took up Melody’s hand and tugged her away from the doorframe. “I imagine to let off some anger.”

“But he said he wasn’t angry?”

“Sebastian…is like water, when he’s angry.”

“Cause he’s like a merperson or something?” Melody arched a brow. That’s when the first cry of delight bounced off the walls of the manor. She stared at him with wide eyes. Smith swallowed loudly. A loud thud followed. “Oh, cause he likes toget wet.”

“Melody,” Smith huffed.

“Don’t act like you don’t get drenched with me, mister. I know exactly how much you like getting—”

Smith snatched up her face, hoping to cease her teasing. Melody cackled the whole way into the side of the fridge, only succumbing to his pursuit when their lips crashed together. She grinned from ear to ear before draping her arms lazily around his shoulders. However, as another moan filled the house, Smith grew uncomfortable in his body. He often tried to ignore them, pretend like he didn’t hear his best friend fucking his wife voraciously against the walls. But the manor was old, and the walls were already thin.

Melody snickered, tugging away from him and toward the darkened hall. “Come on, you big prude.”

“I am not prude.” He followed her like the lovesick puppy dog he was.

“It’s so weird, one moment you’re all, I’ll spank you till your ass is raw, Ms. Deathless, the next you clam up and get real shy about sex.” She tossed over her shoulder, pushing open a frosted glass door.

Smith stepped into the once abandoned greenhouse turned alive with artwork.

And at the center was Melody, directly in front of her easel and canvas, hiding the painting behind it. Smith eyed her suspiciously.

“What’s that?”

“Tell me why you get shy talking about sex first,” she countered, hands on her hips.

“When it’s just with you, I can be open about my desires. It’s not polite to be carnivorous in front of family, now, Melody, what is that?” He stepped closer while she held her ground.

“Carnivorous?” she teased.

“Melody…” he warned, seeing red bloom around her as she stepped further from him. Roses lined the outside of the painting. “What is this?”

“You remember how you wanted me to draw you a rose? And there’s that big empty space in the room that something used to be hung there? Well, I figured, you know, it could use a little something.” Melody stepped aside and motioned in broad strokes with her arms. “Tada, what do you think?”

Smith was awestruck…dumbfounded…speechless.

She’d painted a portrait of them in a field of roses. His long arms wrapped around her, his cheek to her head. She was in that red dress again, the one that Agatha used to torment him. It was like pulling the image from his memory.

“You’ve outdone yourself, sweet girl,” he breathed, stepping up to the painting. Every brush stroke was tender, it made the whole painting come alive.

“You like it?”

“I love it,” he confessed, twisting to her only to find her holding out a rose. She’d plucked it from a singular glass vase. Holding it out to him, Smith froze in place.

“I love you.” She closed the distance between them.

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