by Lynn Tyler
“Okay, love,” Raven said. He stroked her hair one last time before turning away and glaring at Sloan. Raven pointed at Sloan’s chest and growled. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Sloan simply hung his head. Nobody liked to be treated like a child, but he deserved it.
Raven bumped into him hard on his way out and Sloan did his best not to react. Instead, he crept over to Sunny’s bed and pulled a chair closer. “I’m sorry, Sunny,” he said, the words tumbling out of his mouth surprisingly easy considering he didn’t make a habit of apologizing very often. “What I said was uncalled for, and I didn’t mean it.”
She blinked up at him and a single tear eased from her eye and down her temple. “It’s fine,” she said.
He could tell from her voice that it was anything, but there was nothing else he could do. Not right now, at least.
He watched over her as she fell asleep and collapsed into the chair next to the bed. He felt utterly hopeless and worse, he had no idea how to fix what he’d so callously broken.
The door eased open and Anna slipped in, closing the door behind her with a soft click. She threw Sloan a look full of disgust as she settled on the side of Sunny’s bed. Anna reached out and tucked a strand of Sunny’s hair behind her ear in a motherly fashion.
She didn’t say a word to Sloan, but she didn’t have to. Sloan could feel her disdain from across the room.
Finally, he couldn’t take the silence anymore. “I know,” he whispered. “I know I screwed up. I was so scared, I didn’t know what to do.”
The sweet, agreeable Anna he’d always known seemed to have disappeared. “So you decided to take it out on her, when she was hurt and vulnerable?” she asked, scorn dripping from her voice.
Sloan couldn’t help the flinch. “I really don’t know what came over me.” Except he did know. He knew exactly why he’d reacted the way he had. When he’d seen Sunny trying, and almost failing, to hold off a Takahashi handler on her own, he felt a deep sense of urgency. He’d known at that moment he was utterly in love with her. And he was about to lose her.
A darkness had nearly overwhelmed him, and it had been all he could do to make sure he didn’t harm any of his clan mates while he controlled his magic, forcing it to rain instead of flooding the whole damn street.
When it was over, he’d looked over at Sunny, only to find her sprawled on the ground with her head in Raven’s lap, as still as death itself.
His sanity had completely shattered and for a brief second, he’d been about to drown the whole lot of them, including himself. Then he’d seen her chest moving, seen her mouth move as she spoke to Raven, and he’d lost it.
Anna shook her head and went back to petting Sunny’s hair softly, exactly like a mother would. He supposed she was almost old enough to be Sunny’s mother and he knew Anna had certainly developed some fond feelings for the fire handler. “You need to get a hold of yourself,” she advised, but her voice wasn’t as harsh as it had been a few minutes ago. “Look. Why don’t you go and visit with Matthew? I know he’d like to see you and, somehow, I don’t think Sunny will be very happy if you were still here when she wakes up.”
That probably wasn’t a bad idea. “You’ll stay with Sunny?” he asked.
“Of course,” she replied, not even sparing him a glance.
He sighed. He supposed he deserved the slightly cold shoulder she was giving him. “What room is he in?”
Anna gave him directions on how to get to Matthew’s room and he left with one last reluctant glance at Sunny’s sleeping form.
Matthew’s room was fairly quiet when he finally found it. He could hear Raven and Leith talking softly, not loud enough for him to hear the actual words, but by the serious tone, he guessed they were probably talking about what had happened. He stepped inside as Matthew was blinking up at them all, looking adorably confused. Sloan doubted the man would appreciate being called adorable though, even in this state, so he decided to keep the thought to himself.
“Wha…” Matthew mumbled.
Before either Raven or Sloan could do anything, Leith was at Matthew’s side. Sloan watched as Leith bent over Matthew. “Are ye finally awake, lad?”
Matthew nodded and tried to say something, but his voice only came out as a croak.
Leith shook his head and pressed his finger to Matthew’s lips. “Hush, lad. Let’s get ye some water.”
Sloan glanced around the room and found a plastic pitcher perched on a small table. A quick look told him it was, indeed, filled with water. Grabbing a paper cup from the dispenser on the wall, he poured the water, added a bendy straw that lay next to the pitcher and handed it to Leith.
Leith held the cup for Matthew and directed the straw into the man’s mouth. He waited patiently for Matthew to drink his fill, murmuring occasionally about how he should slow down so he didn’t choke.
Finally, Matthew cleared his throat and rested his head against the pillow again. “Is Sunny okay?”
“She has a concussion, but she’ll be okay,” Sloan answered.
Matthew fixed him with a misty stare. “Why aren’t you with her?”
“Anna’s with her, don’t worry,” he answered, not wanting to admit he’d messed up so badly.
Matthew nodded but stopped quickly. “What’s the matter?” Leith asked. “Where does it hurt? Lad? Should I get a nurse? Sloan, make yerself useful and get the doctor.” Leith’s tone bordered on panic.
“I’m just dizzy,” Matthew said softly. “So, apparently that guy was a Takahashi handler after all.”
“He was,” Raven answered. “Something was off though. I know him from before. He was always the most reasonable Takahashi. I don’t know why he would have launched an all-out attack. I’m not sure what happened.”
“He did seem a little crazy,” Matthew said. “Can someone raise the bed for me so I can talk to you properly?”
Leith obliged him and Matthew groaned as the back of the bed was raised. “Why am I so dizzy? I didn’t hit my head, did I?”
“That would be the anesthesia still working its way out of your system,” a nurse said from the doorway. She smiled at them all as she hustled over to the bed and stuck a thermometer in Matthew’s mouth. He held it obligingly under his tongue and straightened his arm as the nurse took his blood pressure. She removed the thermometer and stuck it back in the machine.
Leith closed in on the bed again, looking slightly panicked. “Why are ye takin’ his blood pressure and his temperature? Is there something else wrong with him?”
The nurse shook her head. “No. It’s just procedure.”
“Is it all right if I come in?”
The voice was familiar, and Sloan spun around to see Prince Gareth standing in the doorway.
“Oh, Your Highness. Of course you can come in. If the patient says it’s okay, that is,” the nurse said with a smile.
“Come on in,” Matthew invited.
There was something so regal about Gareth, Sloan couldn’t help but give a little half bow.
The prince spared him a smile, but only had eyes for the man on the bed. “Your nurse is one of my dragons. She called me as soon as she figured out who you were,” Gareth said.
Sloan swiveled his head so he could watch Matthew. The young man blushed and looked as if he didn’t quite know what to say or do. Leith, meanwhile, had risen from his place by Matthewʼs bed and had stalked across the room, like he was about to kill something. Sloan had the nasty idea that Leith was currently plotting how to murder a certain dragon.
Matthew started speaking again. “Unfortunately, Your Highness, I’ll need a few more days than I originally thought to get our agreement written down.”
The prince strode across the room and sat down on the edge of Matthew’s bed. “I’m not here because of our alliance. I’m here to make sure you’re all right.”
“He’s fine,” Leith said.
“No offence, Leith MacAlister, but I would rather hear that from Matthew,” Prince Gareth said, not
even bothering to look in Leith’s direction, In fact, he never removed his gaze from Matthew’s face.
Sloan wondered briefly if anyone in the world had ever blushed as hard as Matthew was blushing right then. He was about to make the joke, to try and lighten the atmosphere a little, when Matthew groaned. “Shit, my leg hurts.”
The nurse, who had been scribbling on her clipboard in the corner, hurried over and handed Matthew something. “This is so you can self-administer your pain medication,” she explained. “Just press the button and it will release a dose of morphine into your I.V.”
Raven approached and gently removed the wand from Matthew’s hand, pressing the button for him. “It will work soon, right?” the leader asked.
The nurse nodded. “Yes. There are no limits on it right now. Use it. When you’re discharged, it will be back to over the counter stuff for you.”
“Don’t worry,” Raven said. “I’ll make sure he uses it.”
Matthew nodded. “I’m not a masochist. I’ll take the pain meds while I can get them.”
“Good,” Prince Gareth said. “I don’t like to see you in pain, Matthew.”
Matthew cocked his head a little. “Can I ask you something?”
The prince nodded and shuffled around until he sat next to Matthew, leaning back against the mattress with him, their shoulders brushing.
“Why do you call me Matthew but you refer to everyone else by their full names?”
Sloan exchanged a panicked look with Raven. One did not question a dragon about their traditions, especially not one of the royal family. If anything happened to Matthew because of the breach of protocol, it would be on their heads, because not one of them had thought to instruct the young man in dragon etiquette. Raven rushed forward and tried to capture the prince’s attention. “Your Highness,” he said, “please forgive him. He didn’t mean any offense.”
“He’s fine,” the prince said dismissively. “Matthew, dragon protocol dictates that we are very formal with people we respect.”
Sloan could see Matthew trying to work through what Gareth’s words meant. “Does that mean you don’t respect me?”
The young man’s words were slightly slurred, indicating that the painkillers were finally starting to set in.
“On the contrary,” the prince answered. “I respect you very much. I’m only using your first name as a sign I want to get to know you better. Hopefully, a lot better.”
A low growl ripped through the room moments before Leith slammed his fist into the wall. He followed up the action by striding out of the room, muttering about Lothario dragons under his breath.
Sloan looked back at Matthew, who blinked around at the room. “What happened?” he asked thickly.
Gareth sighed and patted Matthew’s arm. “Sleep now.”
“’Kay,” Matthew agreed as his eyes fluttered shut. “But someone needs to check on Leith. Something’s off with him.”
Sloan stepped forward and bent down a little so Matthew could see him clearly. “I’ll go check on him now. Feel better, champ.”
“M’not fifteen,” Matthew muttered as he fell asleep against Gareth’s shoulder.
Sloan left the room and wandered the hall, looking for Leith. He found the man in the waiting room, facing the windows.
Sloan sighed. He and Leith were both idiots. Leith was deeply affected by Matthew; he had been from the first day Matthew had stepped into the castle when he was seventeen. Before the incident, Sloan had always thought Leith only viewed Matthew as a younger brother. Now, everyone in the room could see he was in love with the young man. Everyone except Leith, himself, apparently. Or maybe, the man simply couldn’t admit he was in love with Matthew.
Sloan was another story. He was ready and willing to admit to both himself and everyone else, that he was in love with Sunny. He just didn’t know how.
Yep. Both of them were complete idiots.
Chapter 19
Sloan sighed when he saw the bouquet of flowers he’d sent to Sunny sitting on the dining room table. This was the third one she’d refused to put in her room.
He was at a complete loss as to what to do next. Obviously, flowers were not the answer. And chocolates weren’t the answer either, since he’d found the box he’d sent to Sunny sitting on Raven’s desk yesterday.
Sunny had been nothing but polite to him since she’d been released from the hospital. She said all the right words and even smiled at him from time to time, but it wasn’t the same. Her smile never reached her eyes anymore and she avoided his touch. Hell, she avoided being in the same room alone with him let alone sitting next to him at meals.
Matthew hobbled into the room and eased himself down into his seat, propping his crutches against the arm of the chair. “Hey, Sloan,” he greeted.
Maybe the answer was staring him right in the face. Sunny and Matthew had gotten quite close since she’d come to the castle. He probably knew what he could do to make her forgive him. “Matthew, can I ask you something?”
The young man looked up at him with surprise, and Sloan immediately felt guilty. Matthew had been living here for ten years, and he really didn’t know the kid at all. In fact, he couldn’t remember ever having a conversation with Matthew. They really didn’t speak unless they had to.
It served to highlight how far into his depression he had been before Sunny came into his life. Still, it hadn’t been an excuse to totally ignore everything and everyone around him.
He was ashamed of himself. Hell, Dara would have lectured him about his behavior until she turned blue.
“Sloan?”
He blinked at Matthew’s voice and forced himself back to the situation at hand. “Sorry. I zoned out for a second.”
Matthew smiled kindly. “I’ve been known to zone out myself every once in a while. What can I do for you?”
He couldn’t believe he was about to ask someone more than forty years younger than him for advice on his love life, but it wasn’t like he was doing so hot on his own. “I kind of made an ass of myself where Sunny is concerned.”
Matthew nodded. “I heard.”
Sloan waited for the dressing down Matthew was probably itching to give him. Everyone else in the castle certainly had already torn him a new one.
When Matthew simply waited for him to speak, Sloan was taken aback. “Don’t you want to shout at me?” he blurted.
Laughing, Matthew shook his head. “You’ve probably already had the lecture from at least three people. You don’t need to hear it from me.”
Sloan relaxed. Matthew didn’t look particularly upset, just curious. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. Now, about Sunny?”
Trust a lawyer to cut right to the issue. “Well, I’ve been trying to get her to forgive me, but I can’t seem to get it right.”
Matthew frowned. “Forgive you? She told me she forgave you before she was discharged.”
“I know. But it’s just not the same between us. I know I shouldn’t expect it to be the same,” he rushed to say before Matthew could point it out, “but I wish she would at least give me a chance to apologize properly.”
“No offense, but I don’t think the way to her heart is through flowers and chocolate. The candy was pretty tasty, by the way,” Matthew said with a smirk.
Sloan couldn’t help but laugh. “Glad you approved. So, do you have any advice?”
“Yep. Get those peanut butter cups from North America next time. They’re freaking delicious.”
Despite his serious question, Sloan was delighted with Matthew’s come back. The kid was smart, witty and had a great sense of humor. He’d have to make an effort to spend more time with Matthew in the near future. He had a feeling Matthew would be a hoot to party with and also be able to hold his own in a debate.
“Funny. I’ll keep that in mind. But about Sunny?”
Matthew flashed him a grin before getting serious. “The thing is, she knows you didn’t mean what you said. But it wasn’t what she need
ed to hear right then. She probably felt like you’d abandoned her, especially when you threw Dara in her face.”
The whole idea that Sunny might have felt abandoned was an eye-opener. She had talked with him briefly about her past and how she’d been raised in a series of foster homes. It wasn’t inconceivable that she would feel deserted when he’d lost his temper when what she’d needed him to be was supportive. “Man, I really messed up.”
Matthew struggled to his feet, or rather his foot, and grabbed his crutches. “Look. Just spend some time with her. Watch movies, talk to her…hell, why not try reading the same book so you have something to discuss.”
He pursed his lips and thought about it. They hadn’t really done much but sleep together since they met. Watching a movie with her could be fun. And reading a book wouldn’t kill him. Maybe showing her he cared by spending time with her would be more effective than telling her with flowers and candy. “Thanks, Matthew. I’ll do that.”
Matthew propped the crutches under his arms and winked at him as he straightened. “No problem. I have a vested interest in you and Sunny getting back together.”
“Yeah? What’s that? Do you and Raven have a bet on if Sunny and I get back together or something?”
“No. You’re much more pleasant to be around now that Sunny’s here. You’re not all doom and gloom anymore. But a bet is a good idea. I’m going to find Raven and talk him into making one.” Matthew limped in the direction of Raven’s office. “I’m betting on you, by the way.”
Sloan watched Matthew leave the room, feeling much happier than he had when he’d first woken up to see the flowers he’d sent Sunny sitting on the table. He strode over to his laptop and fired up a search engine to look for recent movie releases.
Opening a new tab, Sloan pulled up an American candy store. Matthew was going to get his peanut butter cups as often as he wanted for the rest of his life.
*
Sunny watched from the library window as Sloan left the castle. She wished he’d quit sending her flowers. They were beautiful and thoughtful, but they made her feel guilty because she couldn’t seem to get past his words.
