{A/N: I deeply apologize for the inconveniences I had caused you guys.)
Then, with the practiced ease, she reclined against the sofa's armrest and placed her bare feet directly in his lap.
"Surely you can do this much for your dear aunt?" she murmured with mock fatigue, though her voice carried the honey-sweet tone.
Then she feigned a weary sigh and shifted slightly, her toes nudging lightly against his thigh.
"After all that walking, my feet are absolutely aching."
She watched him through half-lidded eyes, seeking the faintest flicker of reaction as her touch lingered deliberately against his leg.
But...
He gave nothing.
Alaric simply stared at her with an unreadable expression, then his lips curved into a matching smirk as he raised his hands toward her feet resting in his lap.
"What? Need your dear nephew's assistance?" He amused as he pressed a precise point at the arch of her foot with practiced efficiency.
"Heeak!"
