Do you want to drive to my place or shall I drive us both back? Not that it mattered to him, he just needed to know so he could get out when she did if he had to.

I'll meet you at your place, Rose replied. It was never a bad thing for her to have her own car, just in case. She paused for a moment. Now, is this mostly voluntary, or have I been unwittingly kicked out of my own house for the weekend? She cause she knew Taylor wouldn't keep his distance for much longer.

Taylor told me he wasn't responsible for what happened if we were there this weekend, Damien texted back. Besides, I don't think you want to be there. Not with what he's planning to do to her.

Rose blinked.

Good point, she said. At least he's getting a move on.

No kidding. I'm surprised he waited this long, actually. But I doubt we'll hear from either of them all weekend. Damien snorted at them.

That's okay, Rose replied. Just means more time for us together.

Exactly. Damien grinned at the thought. Very pleasant thought, that was. He stretched briefly. Well, I'll see you in a few hours.

Alright, Rose replied. She was looking forward to that, now.

Damien ended up leaving a few minutes early to go out to his car and start driving home again. He didn't need to clean, not really, but he did have to pick up food on the way home so he could cook.

Sera left at her normal time, going back to her car and just sitting there for a minute once she was in. She was still keeping herself cut off from basically the rest of the world, doing her best to not feel anything if she didn't have to and working silently.

Taylor stopped on his way to the house to pick up a few things, and then parked his car next to Sera's in the driveway. He was going to please Sera this weekend if it killed him. He knocked on the door and waited for her to open it.

Sera frowned but went to go answer the door anyway. She'd already gotten comfortable, having changed into a loose t-shirt and sweat pants, and she eyed him carefully.

"Yeah?"

"I thought you might appreciate not having to cook tonight," Taylor replied smoothly, holding up the bag of Italian he'd stopped for. As he spoke, he loosened his hold on his power very slightly, just enough to loosen the tension for the moment.

Sera eyed him for a few more moments before she nodded and moved out of the way so he could come in. "Alright. Thanks."

"My pleasure," Taylor replied as he went in and closed the door behind him. Moving into the kitchen, he set the food down and started to get out plates and silverware. He found that it was easiest to get on Sera's initial good side if he fed her first. He loosened his hold ever so slightly more as he did so. He was going to up the ante in tiny increments so it wouldn't be noticed at first.

Sera let him, going to check on all the animals again. She'd already fed them all, so they would be fine for the rest of the night.

Still a little wary, she moved back into the kitchen to watch Taylor. "What, exactly, are you doing here, Taylor?"

"Bringing you dinner," Taylor replied mildly. "And afterwards I'm going to give you a massage the way you like, and then we'll see after that." Oh yes, he had a plan.

Sera's eyes narrowed a little but she didn't actually tell him no. After a few moments she moved over to the table to sit.

"And I suppose you have nothing to do with the fact that Rose decided to spend the night at Damien's."

"Minor details," Taylor replied. "I assumed it would be easier for you to relax and enjoy yourself without them around." He looked at her. "Was I wrong?"

Sera shrugged after a moment. "I suppose not." It didn't make much of a difference to her, not right now. But clearly Taylor had gone to some effort, so she supposed she should at least try to play nice.

As they worked on dinner, Taylor kept subtly turning up the seduction factor in the room. It still wasn't high by his normal standards, but he didn't want to use too much before he got to the massage.

Sera slowly relaxed more as they ate, slipping under his influence easily. She glanced at him before she got up to go do the dishes, putting things in the sink.

"I'll take care of those later," Taylor said. Gently, he put his hands on her shoulders and steered her out of the kitchen and upstairs to her room. "Lay down, I'm going to give you a massage."

Sera looked at him for a few moments before she shrugged and settled down on her bed so he could do what he wanted. She kept her head turned to the side and pillowed on her arms, though, so she could keep track of him.

Taylor got up on the bed with her and started on her shoulders. He kept it gentle and easy for now, but he knew there would be tension and knots to work out for her. With Sera, there always were.

"Feel a little better?" he asked softly after a few minutes of massage and gentle seduction.

Sera nodded, her eyes half-closed as she moved her hair out of the way. She had to admit, that did feel good. He'd always been good at finding problem spots.