by Marie Medina
“A priest? Really?” Vane asked. He’d finished rinsing his skin and now sat with his arms covering his abdomen.
Arion had allowed himself to admire Vane as he undressed and bathed. The sight hadn’t set him aflame with lust, but he didn’t find the vampire unattractive. He did, however, worry about how thin Vane was. A vampire’s health depended on blood intake, Arion had learned over the years, but perhaps ordinary food would help. “Yes, I did. I’ve reconciled with the gods, I think. Find it peaceful to be in the temples and meditate.”
“Oh.” Vane’s defensiveness was punctuated with moments like this when he seemed completely lost and uncertain.
Arion looked around and found another large towel. He rose and grabbed it, nodding to urge Vane to get up. “The water’s getting cold now. Get out and eat with me.”
Vane looked terrified for a moment, and Arion sighed. “You want me to close my eyes?” He knew his behavior likely had Vane very confused, but he thought arriving and straightforwardly declaring that he wanted to see what might happen if they tried to be together again might be too much for Vane.
“No, it’s fine. It’s not like I have something you haven’t seen before.” Vane took a breath and pushed himself up, wringing his hair out before grasping Arion’s arm and stepping into the towel as Arion held it up for him. He wrapped it around himself and turned to face Arion. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Vane shivered, and Arion grabbed another towel and put it over his shoulders. “Your hair’s still dripping a bit.”
Vane’s gaze swept over Arion’s bare chest. “So is yours.”
Arion waited for Vane to ask him to put a shirt on, and when the vampire didn’t say anything, Arion smiled and pushed him forward. “Come on. The food smells wonderful.”
“It doesn’t help me much. It’s better for you to eat it.” Vane stood by the bed and rubbed the towel over his hair with one hand before sitting down.
Arion looked around and grabbed a chair to pull up to the bedside table. He tore into a loaf of bread and began eating. Gesturing down to the basket on the floor, he asked, “Did the teas and herbs help?”
“With the pain, yes. To an extent.”
“Pain? What kind of pain?”
“Headaches. Muscle aches. Stomach cramps. Some shooting pains in my limbs at times. It varies.”
“I knew it was a wasting disease, but I didn’t realize it caused more than fatigue and weakness.” Arion poured himself some wine and took a deep gulp to steady himself. “Do you know how it felt to hear Ash tell me you hid my identity from them because you didn’t want to bother me?”
Vane lowered the towel and met his gaze. “No. Tell me.”
“I was shocked and angry in equal parts. I still don’t understand it. Not really.”
Vane shifted to lean against the pillows piled at the head of the bed. “You told me to leave you alone. Never to try to find you. I gave my word.”
Arion struggled to control his temper, as he knew Vane had a point. Being reminded of the promise he’d forced from the vampire made him feel guilty and defensive in equal parts. “But you would’ve died! Any idiot would see those are special circumstances.”
“I didn’t want to be rejected a second time. What would be the point of living then?”
Arion sat back in his chair and stared at Vane. “Your brothers. Your parents. Your people.” He pointed toward the window. “I’ve never seen so many people happy to welcome someone in my life! I haven’t seen those kinds of crowds since the king visited Lord Kyo.”
“It’s curiosity. Once I fell ill, my other brother wouldn’t give up insisting I find you. Everyone knew before long. Byron even went and summoned my parents, as if we’re children and I’d done something wrong.”
“You had done something wrong. Throwing your own life away because you were scared. Stop wallowing in self-pity and acting like a martyr!”
Vane drew back a little. “So you came here to yell at me for keeping my word to you? To criticize me for caring about you?”
“No. I came here to save your life.” Arion sat on the bed and put one hand on each side of Vane. Tilting his head to expose his neck, he said, “Drink.”
“You haven’t eaten enough.”
“Stop making excuses,” Arion whispered. He knew Vane wanted to, and he tried to soften his demeanor to encourage Vane. “Drink from me.”
Vane took hold of his shoulder and bit his neck. Arion stayed silent but let himself enjoy the pleasure. When they parted, Arion noted that even though Vane’s eyes had gone black, the vampire didn’t have an erection. Thinking of Vane being too weak to become aroused pained him. He decided to try a different approach. The fighting would get them nowhere.
“Let’s start again, Vane.” He sat back and studied the vampire a moment. “I’m here to save you because I don’t want you to die. I couldn’t live with myself if I denied you the one thing that might save you. And … I regret what I did. Regret not waiting for my emotions to calm. Regret never contacting you again. I assumed you’d moved on, too, but that’s no excuse. At least you stayed away to keep a promise I forced you to make. I have only my own pride to blame. I’d like your forgiveness. In time.”
Vane’s breathing had shallowed, and he stared at Arion with wide eyes. “You had it the moment you walked through the door.”
Arion smiled. “Did I?”
Vane nodded. “So are you just here to save me and then leave as a friend with the past forgiven? Forgotten? Or are you saying what I hope you are?”
“You called yourself a coward earlier. I only agree with you a little bit. How about taking a chance? I look at men differently now, though I still don’t really desire them. But, I will say, the idea of touching you doesn’t scare me the way it once did. Doesn’t repulse me either.”
“But we have more than that to think of,” Vane said, though already some of the spark seemed to be returning to his eyes.
“So, as you take my blood and recover, we talk. We have a lot to cover. A lot to work out. And as you regain your strength, we’ll see what happens physically. It’s not a promise, but I’m giving you the chance I robbed you of all those years ago. All right?”
“You had your plan all worked out before you even got here.” Vane sat forward. “Didn’t you?”
Arion tapped him on the nose. “Exactly.”
Vane gave a choked laugh. “I’m having trouble adjusting to you treating me like a child.”
“Not like a child. Not at all.” Arion leaned in. “I’m just taking the dominant role. Whether you like it or not.”
Vane’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t say anything.
Arion had thought about kissing the vampire but backed away instead. “Rest. I’m going to take my food into my room and finish it. Then sleep for a bit.”
“All right. Whatever you wish.”
Arion couldn’t help grinning. “That’s the attitude I want.”
Vane actually did get under the covers and lie down as Arion left the room. Arion chuckled at the vampire’s ready obedience once he’d closed his door. He finished eating and then lay down on the bed. After dozing for a while, he rolled over and went in search of Vane’s mother and Locke’s grandmother. He’d formulated a plan, and Ash and Locke had made a wonderful suggestion. He and Vane needed to work things out and see what was really between them, and they couldn’t do that with an entire castle full of people watching them.
Arion intended to sweep Vane off his feet—quite literally if the vampire offered any resistance to Arion’s plan.
****
Vane showed the jeweler the design he wanted to have made for Gwynn—a necklace designed to look like a creeping rose vine and dotted with a few diamonds—and told him when it needed to be ready. They’d already set a tentative date for the wedding, though it might need to be changed if all of her older brothers couldn’t return at the same time. Two of them were in the military and hadn’t responded yet. Her father, usua
lly a quiet and unemotional man, couldn’t hide his pride and excitement. Vane wanted everything to be perfect for Gwynn when the day finally came. Arion’s return reminded Vane of how kind Gwynn’s mother Alice had been to him during his grief. He knew many would be sad Alice wouldn’t be able to see her only daughter get married, and something he couldn’t quite identify made him feel obligated to dispel any gloom if it was within his power to do so. Vane felt Arion watching him as the jeweler left. The lycan had been watching him all day long, and it had begun to wear on Vane’s nerves.
Turning to Arion, Vane said, “Everyone’s been watching me like this ever since I collapsed. There’s no need to keep it up. I’m feeling much better already.”
Arion rose and walked over to the bed. “Of course you are. Big, strong beast of a man like me giving you his blood.” A slight smile curved his lips.
That smile gave Vane pause. “Something’s going on here. And I’m not just talking about you. Mother seemed even perkier than I expected she’d be when she came by this morning.”
“Her son is going to live! Did you expect her to be down? And she’s with child. Some women really take to it.”
“And Catherine bringing Lex by to cheer me up. I like babies, and Lex is a cheerful little fellow. But,” Vane crossed his arms over his chest, “she’s never done that since I fell ill.”
“She was curious about me. Everyone is.”
Vane eyed the man. “Hmmm.”
The door flew open, though not quite as violently as it had the day before when Arion had first arrived. Ash came rushing over to the bed, his mate Locke following close behind with a grin on his face.
“You look better already! I’m so happy!” Ash said before leaping onto the bed and hugging Vane. He grinned widely, and his eyes danced with merriment.
Vane returned the hug and sighed. “I do feel better.” When Ash drew back, Vane said, “Thank you both for what you did. I was a fool, and I didn’t deserve all you did for me.”
Ash shook his head, still grinning happily. “You’d have moved the stars themselves if I were the one who was sick. Don’t deny it.” His eyes still sparkled with glee, but now Vane could see a hint of mischief in them. Locke looked guilty as well.
After giving them each a stern look, Vane asked, “What are you all up to? What did you cook up on the journey here?”
Arion sat down on the bed. “We didn’t cook anything up. I asked them questions, and they told me all about you. We had a nice time, even if we were rushing. Locke told me lots of things I never knew about bear shifters. The differences between their society and lycan society are very interesting.”
Vane had a hard time believing that was all they’d talked about, but he didn’t want to contradict Arion’s story by insisting too much. He smoothed the blanket over his legs, suddenly very tired of being in bed. “Perhaps we could all go for a walk or something once you two have rested.” He looked to Ash and Locke and found them packing his things into bags very quietly.
How far gone must I be if simply talking with Arion distracts me so much I don’t even know what’s going on in the room around me?
“What are you two doing?” Vane asked, unable to keep his tone from showing his annoyance.
“Packing your bags, of course,” Ash said, blinking and looking puzzled, as if Vane had been the one who’d asked him to do it. “We’ve had plenty of rest. We got back around midnight last night.”
“But why are you packing my bags?” Vane asked. His gaze moved to Arion when no one answered him.
“Because we’re going away,” Arion said. “To the cabin where Locke and his grandmother used to live. It’s perfect for the two of us.”
“Perfect for what? We have everything we need here.” If they went up into the hills, they’d be alone. The idea made Vane’s stomach lurch. He wanted it, and yet, there would be no one and nothing to distract them.
“And everyone is hovering over us. I have your mother’s permission. She and Catherine helped me arrange it.” Arion smiled and looked to Locke. “Your grandmother is a treasure, by the way, though I’m sure you know that.”
“I do,” Locke said. “And I knew she’d love this idea. She was telling me about some of the little touches she put in last night.”
“Little touches?” Vane said. “All right. That’s it. I’m the lord here, and I don’t need other people making plans for me. I certainly don’t need my mother’s permission to do anything.”
“Are you refusing to go with me?” Arion asked, his tone low and his eyes fixed on Vane with purpose.
Vane struggled to think. It was unreasonably hard to breathe while Arion looked at him so intensely. “I see no reason to go elsewhere. There’s no plumbing system, just a well you’ll have to constantly draw from.”
“I’m not too good to do a little manual labor.” He laughed. “Or dump a few chamber pots. Some lycans don’t even like indoor plumbing. They bathe in the river and shit in the woods. Such wild things we are. Hard to civilize.”
Vane wanted to laugh, but he knew he’d lose the argument if he joined in Arion’s obvious merriment. So instead, he rolled his eyes and tried to keep a straight face. “There’s an outhouse, and I’m no invalid at any rate.”
“No worries then.”
“But what if we need something? You’d have to come all the way back to the castle for it. That’s not fair to you.”
“We’re going. That’s final,” Arion said.
“What gives you the right to make that decision?” Vane asked.
Arion leaned a bit closer. “I’m a bit of a hero at the moment. Who do you think will stop me?”
“I will. I need only tell the guards I don’t wish to go with you,” Vane said.
“You need only tell the guards? Do you always pull rank and get all haughty when you’re angry?” He moved onto his hands and knees on the bed, actually crawling over Vane. “I like the color it’s brought to your cheeks. I’ll say that.”
“What are you doing? We have an audience,” Vane said. He knew even more color was rising to his cheeks. Arion’s face was close enough for them to kiss easily, and he couldn’t imagine their first kiss in twenty years coming with his baby brother watching.
“Do you really care about that, Vane?” Arion whispered.
Trying to avoid being overheard, Vane whispered back in an even lower tone. “What are you doing? Is it funny to you to see me so embarrassed and vulnerable?”
Arion sat back on his heels, though he still straddled Vane. “I see my priority should be convincing you that I’m not trying to hurt you. You said I had your forgiveness. That I had it the moment I walked through the door.”
“You do.”
“Then why treat me like a threat? You didn’t trust me all those years ago, and that … well, it led to problems. Trust me now. I won’t say words I don’t mean, and I won’t toy with you. All right?”
“If you say so.”
Arion took him by the chin, as he had the night before. Something about the gesture made Vane’s blood run hot, but he tried not to let it show.
“Say you believe me.” Arion searched his face. “It will mean the world to me.”
Vane didn’t look away from Arion, but he could feel Ash watching him. Nodding slowly, Vane said, “I believe you. And I’ll trust you. But I’d prefer to stay here.” He swallowed, Arion’s nearness starting to arouse him. “Please.”
Arion grinned. “Since you resist, I’ll simply have to kidnap you.”
“Excuse me?” Vane said as Arion moved off the bed and went into the other room. “Is he serious?”
Locke laughed. “He is. You two have a lot to discuss, and it’s your business. No one else’s.”
“Then why is everyone interfering like this?” Vane gestured to the bags Locke and Ash had packed. “The whole blasted castle already knows all of my business, it seems. I’d counted on my family being on my side.”
“Arion’s on your side. That’s all that matters,” Ash
said, coming closer. He glanced to the door a moment. When he looked back at Vane, he said, “Give him a chance. He regrets leaving. And he really regrets never coming back. Being alone with him could be very romantic.”
“It’s not romantic talking about how much you hurt someone.”
“You said you forgave him,” Ash said. “Give him the opportunity to forgive you. To really know you. Perhaps even—”
“Please don’t say it, Ash.” Vane shook his head. “Mother read you too much poetry when you were growing up.”
“I rather like my mate’s romantic side,” Locke said as he put his arm around Ash. “Why not see if your mate has one? Don’t reject all this effort he’s putting forth.”
“I can never thank you two enough, so don’t take this the wrong way, but,” he glared up at both of them as he pointed to the door, “get out. Now.”
Ash looked a bit hurt, but Locke laughed. “Fine. Be that way.” He tugged on Ash. “Come on. We have a wagon to load up.”
Arion returned with the bag he’d arrived with, setting it down with the others, which Ash and Locke picked up. Locke left the room, but Ash lingered a moment. He bit his lower lip before looking at Vane and saying, “Quit being so fucking stubborn.” He turned on his heels and left.
Arion raised one eyebrow. “What did I miss?”
“You know you heard every damned word.”
Arion chuckled low in his throat. “I did. Trusting me starts right now. Come with me, or I will use force.”
“This game has gone far enough. I—” Vane stopped talking when Arion threw the covers aside and yanked Vane from the bed. Vane was barely on his feet when Arion bent and threw him over his shoulder.
Vane found his voice again as he struggled to free himself from the powerful man’s grasp. “What are you doing?”
“Keeping my promise and kidnapping you. I could carry you princess style in my arms, but that seems less dignified.”
